We'd Never See the Stars
by StuckInTomorrowsDreams
Summary: Nina has never been normal. She's never been a typical girl going to school in Virginia. I mean really, who has ever heard of an artist who can't see? Well, now you have. That's Nina-a blind artist who's trying to become someone important. After all, she's only a high-school girl living in the uneventful state of Virginia-until the storm, that is.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"_Painting is a blind man's profession. He paints not what he sees, but what he feels, what he tells himself about what he has seen." –Pablo Picasso _

Wet. That's what it felt like when the paint splattered onto her. Nina resisted the urge to curse, knowing that would get her nowhere. It must've been the blue paint, the one she had literally just bought. Sometimes she really wished _something_ would go her way. She sighed, figuring it wasn't worth it trying to pick up the paint now. She knew it was blue paint, it sounded like the blue paint, and the blue one had a certain unique texture that Nina could differentiate from the others.

"What was that?" Madison called from the kitchen. Those two rooms were too close.

"Nothing," Nina called back irritably, knowing her sister would have a fit if she saw the mess. Nina presumed it was a mess.

"It had to be something," The soft voice of her sister got louder, so Nina knew Madison must've been standing in the doorway now. "What on God's green earth happened here?!"

"It spilled from my hands I guess." Nina shrugged, just feeling the scowl on her sister's face.

"You're cleaning this up Nina Elizabeth. I'm not covering for you this time." Madison ordered firmly.

"You don't have to use my whole first name; it's not that kind of situation." Nina grinned lightly. Madison let go a soft chuckle.

"Sure, _Nina Elizabeth._" She stressed the words in order to annoy the younger girl. Nina shook her head lightly and chuckled back.

"I'll clean it later, I promise." Nina rose cautiously from the stool she had been situated on. She almost would have fallen when she slipped on a paintbrush, but a strong hand gripped her forearm. "Thanks," Nina murmured, frustrated with herself for needing help.

"No problem. I'm always willing to help out pretty young ladies such as yourself." A new voice answered cheekily. Nina grinned from ear to ear, knowing it wasn't a new voice at all. It was her father.

"I'm not willing to accept help from cocky know-it-alls such as yourself." Nina mocked kindly. She gently pried her arm from her father's grip and headed out.

"Where are you going?" He called, and she could feel him smiling.

"Out," Nina answered without even turning around to her sister and father. "I won't go far and I won't be too terribly long." She headed out the front door, hearing the door click behind her. The fall breeze hit her almost immediately, and she smelled a waft of fall leaves and pumpkins in the air. It was her favorite time of year.

Nina walked until her hand fell onto a familiar tree trunk, one that told her she had entered the woods. It wasn't some adventurous or even dangerous woods; it wasn't even a real woods. It was really just a mini-wood that separated their house from the neighbors. Nina loved it though, and she was grateful they had at least that for privacy. She trekked further into the wood until she reached a familiar spot and climbed. There was a particularly tall and sturdy tree she had discovered in the center of the woods, and her father had been kind enough to build her a rather impressive tree-house in it. There was a ladder of course, considering Nina wasn't that skilled when it came to climbing things.

There is where Nina sat, in her tall tree-house taking in the breeze and feeling of autumn. She let a contented sigh escape her lips, and she lay back letting her arms serve as her pillows. She let her mind wander freely.

She wondered what pumpkins looked like. She knew they were orange, and she had felt one, but what shade of orange? What did the vine on top look like? It was a strange thing to think about, and Nina barely ever allowed herself to think about it.

She was blind. She always had been since she was five and always would be. There was nothing Nina could do about it; and wallowing in self-pity wasn't exactly going to get her anywhere. She managed herself in a way that made her feel normal, considering she was excellent at telling what people and objects looked like. She could feel a person's face and such, ask them eye and hair color and that sort of thing, and then she had a fairly accurate picture of what they looked like. She was an artist, and she was a good one at that. She had been told so by her family, which could have very well been a lie to make her feel better, but she had also won countless art contests that were prestigious and didn't take pity on the blind. Many judges and contestants alike had warned her to forget it because she could never win. She was blind.

That was when Nina decided she was going to live her life proving wrong everyone that doubted her.

Nina fluttered her eyes closed and let her mind wander once again, though this time it wasn't the colors of things she couldn't see. She wandered this time to an exam she had to complete in her English class soon, oddly enough. Being a senior in high school wasn't all that amazing like the movies made it seem. She thought about a particular part of her exam, and it was an essay on a book they had read. The book was The Hobbit, and one she hadn't really enjoyed too much. Her family had flipped out when they had heard she was reading the "classic" in school, but Nina wasn't really feeling it. It didn't seem like the most wonderful book, and frankly it depressed her. The King and his nephews—the two happiest characters in the book—die in the final battle. That was hardly a good ending in Nina's opinion. Her essay of course had the weirdest prompt she could have imagined. _Was Thorin Oakenshield a hero or a villain? _How was Nina supposed to know? She didn't particularly care either way.

It was another gust of wind, one that was harder this time, woke Nina from her half thinking half nap state, and compelled her to return home. She tentatively climbed down the rickety ladder from her tree-house and landed with a thud on the hard forest floor. Well, she overshot that landing.

"Ouch, I hate pinecones." Nina grumbled to herself as she felt the hard cone in her hand she had landed on. Another gust of wind had Nina worrying a little more and she found herself rushing a bit more toward home. Virginia and their hurricanes.

She figured it had to be the remnants of some hurricane that had most likely hit North Carolina or something, but she wasn't exactly sure how strong this one would be, so she was cautious and hurrying nonetheless. The wind picked up considerably, and Nina thought she could hear faint cries of her name from somewhere ahead. Nina scrambled more desperately as the wind knocked her balance frequently.

"Dad!" She screeched, as a sudden wave of panic rose within her. She was caught in a hurricane.

"Nina!" She heard his normally cheeky voice scream in reply from somewhere. "Hold on!" She knew it was him now. Nina was utterly terrified now that she could hear just how terrified her father was. _Where was he?_ Nina broke into a full run at this point, begging God she was running the right way. Nina had one fear in life, and it wasn't darkness. She lived in darkness. No, Nina's only fear in life was fear itself. When Nina was in fear, she would lose all her senses. All her reasoning and calmness would vanish, and she could get herself killed. She almost had once.

The cracking of trees was deafening and the wind by now was the only other sound she could hear. If Nina's father was calling her, she couldn't hear him at all. A tree cracked extra-violently, and Nina presumed it was falling. She gasped in terror, considering it could fall anywhere and she couldn't tell where. She was experiencing fear, and she couldn't think at all. She let go a horrible scream when the trunk of a large tree collapsed right behind her, knocking her forward onto the ground.

The spray and coldness of water got her next, and soon Nina was drenched in the heavy rain. She whimpered, lying face down in the ground just waiting for the hell she was experiencing to end.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **

**I just posted the story and I've already broken my schedule of weekly updates -_- oh well, I couldn't wait and plus the first chapter was a bit slow going and a Guest reviewed so I felt AMAZING from that so thank you :) **

**To those who favorited and followed, thank you so much and don't be afraid to review! I like feedback, and it can help me improve the story. So, chapter 2. Enjoy! **

* * *

"_To be blind is not miserable; not to be able to bear blindness, that is miserable." –John Milton _

**That Morning**

"Dad! There's going to be a hurricane today." Madison said with a hint of worry in her tone as she handed her father the thermos of coffee. James, her father, took the thermos in a rush and planted a hastened kiss to her forehead.

"Okay," He sighed. Why did those blasted storms have to come on the worst days? "Get the supplies and stuff in the storm cellar and tell your sister." He directed his oldest daughter and caught her worried expression. "What is it?"

"Category 4, Dad." Madison warned, the concern evident in her voice. James dropped the thermos to the floor, soon after cursing under his breath. He didn't want to wake his youngest girl, Nina.

"How's that possible? We never get them that bad." James reasoned incredulously. Madison shook her head vigorously, something the whole stubborn family of them tended to do.

"Dad, the people on the news were taking it very seriously." She reasoned back, definitely the wise one in the family.

"What time are they thinking it will hit?" James sighed, taking a bite of his breakfast sandwich. He practically lived off of those things.

"Around 4:00, so you better just stay home today. It would be safer."

"No," James sighed, gathering his work paraphernalia. "I'll get fired if I skip another day. I'll come home early today, and make sure I'm back around 3:00. There shouldn't be any traffic to contend with." He replied, Madison sighing and shaking her head the whole time.

"Everyone's probably thinking that! You'll never make it home in time, and what if their wrong and the storm comes sooner?" Madison argued. James ran a shaking hand through his unkempt dark hair and messed with his work tie.

"I'll come home around 2:00 then. Madison just stay home with your sister today. I think that would be better." James ordered gently, placing a warm hand on his daughter's shoulder. "You remind me more and more of your mother each day, you know that?" He chuckled lightly, giving her shoulder a small squeeze.

"Thanks," Madison let go a small albeit stressed laugh. "I'm glad at least that's something I know about her." James offered her a warm smile, knowing the girls had a hard time knowing that their mother was foreign to them.

Madison was only two years older than her 18 years old sister, and their mother had died in a car accident shortly after birthing Nina. Madison, only two at the time, didn't remember her mother at all. When James saw Madison and thought of his beautiful wife, Sarah, and he was speaking the truth. When he saw Madison, he did see his wife. Their voice and mannerisms were identical, and both were the wise peacemakers of the household. Nina however, looked much like a mixture of the two parents. Her golden locks were just like that of Sarah's, and she smiled like her too. Though the rest of her face was from her father, with her sharp features and tan skin. The freckles that dusted her face and arms were all her own though. Her striking blue eyes were her mother's.

"I'll be back at 2:00, Mad." James called as he started off to the front door. "Oh and uh, let your sister sleep in a little today. She's been kind of stressed with school lately."

"I know what that's like," Madison mumbled lightly as she waved to her father goodbye, silently praying he would come back to her safely by the end of the day.

**1 Hour before the Storm**

"You came home much earlier than expected," Madison commented with a relieved tone after Nina had gone out. It was noon, though her father had said he'd be back at two. "Are you sure it's a good idea for her to be outside now?"

"She'll be fine, its only noon and the hurricane won't come until 4:00. My boss let us all go home because of the storm." James answered nonchalantly as he began scrubbing the blue out of the carpet in Nina's art room. "How did this happen?" He grunted while scrubbing. Madison laughed lightly from her place against the doorframe.

"Nina said the paint slipped from her fingers, but I think she was daydreaming again." Madison answered.

"Hmmm," James hummed in thought. "Well, I suppose there's no harm in a dreaming child." He looked up, giving his oldest girl his signature mischievous smile before returning to his task of cleaning the carpet.

"Dad," Madison suddenly called out with an urgent tone. He looked up again to see Madison peering out the back window restlessly. "The wind's picking up now. I think you should get Nina."

"It's just an autumn breeze, Mad." He reasoned once he had moved to stand behind her. "She'll be fine."

"If you say so," Madison sighed uneasily with her arms folded, gazing anxiously out the window. James sighed for the millionth time that day and returned to his cleaning.

"Just keep the news on so we know what's going on." He called.

"Sure thing, Dad."

**Half an Hour before the Storm**

"Madison where's Nina?" James asked. He was practically tumbling down the stairs now that he had finally gotten the chance to change out of his work clothes.

"She's still out," Madison replied evenly from her place behind the kitchen counter overlooking the living room.

"She's not back yet?" James raised his voice in panic.

"No, why? You said she would be fine!" Madison stormed over to where he stood at the foot of the staircase.

"That was half an hour ago, Madison! I'm going to go get her."

"It's not safe, Dad! Let me go with you!" She clung to his arm like a little child.

"Madison you stay here and watch in case I need you to call for help." James responded evenly as he yanked on his coat. "I'll be back when I have your sister."

"Please be careful," Madison whispered hoarsely. James stopped, setting a hand to her shoulder.

"I promise I'll be back. I promise." He planted a kiss on her forehead and headed out the door, trying not to look so taken aback by the wind's force.

It pulled him this way and that, making James half-tempted to run back home. No, he thought, Nina was still out there. His little girl was out there. He screamed the girl's name thousands of times before the wind drown him out. He couldn't even think with all of it.

He had almost collapsed right then and there from the exhaustion of fighting the storm. It was god awful having to be out there, and his muscles screamed in protest every time he took another step.

"NINA!" He bellowed in despair, hoping beyond hope that his blind little girl was still ok.

"Dad!" He heard the call from her. It was so faint, James couldn't tell at first whether he had imagined it or not. When the call came again, it seemed too real to be his imagination.

"Nina!" He screeched desperately, running purely on adrenalin now. "Hold on!" He looked up just in time, and in horror, to see a tree coming down upon him. He jumped back quickly and scrambled backward as the tree _just _missed him.

"Daddy!" She called again, this time in a whimpering, fearful tone. James felt tears running down his cheeks, and he could only differentiate them from the rain by the salty taste.

It had to have been half an hour or so, maybe twenty minutes before James finally let out a gut-wrenching sob. Nina couldn't have made it at this point. But he had promised he would return with the girl, and the last thing he wanted was to go home to Madison's lost and crushed face when she sees the lack of Nina. But if he stayed any longer, he wouldn't return home at all. James silently begged Nina for forgiveness for what he was about to do. He took one last look at the woods before him and stood himself up straight.

And he turned and headed for home.

"Daddy!" Nina screeched one more time before letting her battered and wet face fall into the squishy dirt she currently lay on.

She sobbed into the dirt as the trees fell rapidly around her, though none actually hitting her. For the first time since she had first become blind, Nina was terrified at the darkness that consumed her. She couldn't see what was happening around her. She couldn't understand what had happened. When had they _ever _had hurricanes this horrendous in Virginia?

"Nina, do not be afraid." A voice inside her head spoke evenly. Nina recognized it as her own, but it didn't seem fitting. How the heck was she expecting herself to not be afraid?

"Just kill me already!" She shrieked at the sky, directing her words at the storm. "Just let me die in this already!" She crawled only a little ways before the horrors of the storm overtook her and a tree trunk fell straight for her.

Nina let out a terrified shriek as she heard the rapid wood cracking right in front of her and she scrambled backward as fast as her shaky limbs would go, muscles screaming the whole way. She didn't make it far. The only thing left for Nina was when she looked up and—to her surprise—she _saw_ the tree. Nina _saw _the tree trunk tumble down and hit her.

And then all went black again.

Nina woke up to a soft cloth beneath her, what felt like her bed. She let go a contented sigh as she stirred peacefully on her cloth.

"I see you're up then lass." A gruff voice said. Nina shot her eyes open—not that it really made a difference in her vision. She noticed the man's accent, it sounded almost Scottish. Why was she in the presence of a Scottish man?

Nina shot up far too quickly from her bedroll. Her head started spinning and she felt dizzy in her familiar darkness as she started breathing heavier.

"Lass?" The gruff voice sounded more concerned. Nina panicked. _Where was she_?

She stretched out her hands in any and every direction in hopes of feeling familiar signs of where she was. Nothing was familiar. The grass surrounding her was far too soft for Virginia; the trees were frightfully warm from what she could reach, and the breeze was warmer than anything back home.

"Dad!" She screamed in terror when two strong hands held her down. "Help me!" She lashed out desperately at her attacker, only to hear his annoyed grunts.

"Lass, calm down you can see I'm not going to harm you!" The voice unintentionally bellowed. Nina ceased in her struggles gradually, and soon plopped her head in her hands and quietly sobbed. If she wasn't blind, she would see him.

"No, I can't see." She whispered hoarsely. She could feel the man leaning down beside her. "I couldn't see if I wanted to." She slowly and tentatively showed her face to the man, allowing him to see the pale silhouette over her blue eyes. The man gasped.

"My apologies lass, I didn't know." He mumbled embarrassedly. Nina let out a mirthless chuckle.

"No one ever does, I'm not offended." Nina replied, feeling only a fraction of little bit safer with him. The man seemed nice enough, though Nina still didn't trust him one bit.

"My mother had no sight too, you know." The man sighed quietly, as if he didn't expect Nina to hear. She turned her head towards the sound of his voice.

"Did she?"

"Aye, and my brother and I always promised we'd care for her." The man sighed again, most likely regaining his wits in the middle of an emotional story. "It's a dangerous world we live in, lass, especially when you've no means to see the danger." Nina nodded in agreement, though his ways of speaking confused her a little. He was odd.

"I'm sure you've been taking care of your mother very well, sir." Nina forced a polite smile. She knew the struggles her family had while they constantly had to cope with a blind loved one. This man seemed to be undergoing the same thing.

"Aye we did, before she passed on." The man's gruff and cold voice seemed to return after that, and he awkwardly cleared his throat. "Dwalin, at your service, lass."

Dwalin.

Nina couldn't believe it. She had read the Hobbit, she knew the story. She didn't like the story, but she knew it. Nina gasped.

"As in," She gulped. "A dwarf… of Erebor?" She knew she had to be in some kind of hell for this story to be the one she was trapped in. She had surely died in the hurricane, left her family home to mourn, and she was stuck in this horrible story.

"How do you know of Erebor?" Dwalin growled threateningly. Nina breathed a little quicker than normal as his heavy footsteps approached, and she scooted backward until her back slammed into a warm tree trunk.

"I…I…" She what? Nina knew she couldn't very well say she read the book, considering it obviously didn't exist here. "I used to hear stories about it when I was little from my father." That wasn't really a lie. Her father was crazy about Tolkien and his works, and his face would light up when he spoke of it to Nina and her sister. The thought of her family brought tears to her eyes. What did they think? Was she really dead and being punished for some awful deed?

"And who is your father?" Dwalin growled again. Nina racked her brain for anything that could help her. James didn't sound much like a Middle-Earth name.

"I don't remember…" She trailed off in a croaky whisper while rubbing her head subconsciously. It was half true, her not remembering things. All she remembered was seeing a tree plummet down onto her head. Wait. She remembered _seeing _a tree. Why had she seen it?

"Lass, you've truly nowhere to go, do you?" Dwalin sighed. Nina nodded hopelessly up at where she presumed Dwalin to be. He huffed. "I am on my way to the Shire, and we're not too terribly far now. You can join me if you wish. But once we're there, I'll be finding you a proper place to stay there."

He seemed to stress the fact that Nina would not be joining the dwarves on their quest. Not that she minded. Nina hated the quest they embarked on, and from what she had read she hated Thorin Oakenshield.

"Do you know of a wizard of any kind?" Nina squeaked as Dwalin lifted her onto his pony. He was very strong, the way he cradled her so she wouldn't fall, treating her like she was light as a feather when hoisting her up.

"I know a Gandalf," He replied once Nina was situated shakily on the pony. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering," Nina yawned. Dwalin's deep rumbling chest signified he was laughing as Nina helplessly lay against it. She still didn't trust Dwalin whatsoever, but at the moment he was the safest thing she had. And she couldn't exactly fight back if he decided to hurt her. She was no kung-Fu master or anything.

"Sounds to me like you need some rest, lass." His voice was oddly softer than the original gruff sound she had heard at first. Nina felt more at ease with this kinder side of Dwalin.

"Maybe I will…" She trailed off exhaustedly. Nina discovered that she was in no position to argue with Dwalin. In that case, Nina resolved to simply sleep on him as the rhythmic sound of hooves beating and his steady heartbeat sent Nina to sleep. She would find Gandalf in the Shire. He could fix this.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"_The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision." –Helen Keller _

It was early, earlier than what Nina liked when she finally woke. It turned out sleeping on a horse in front of a dwarf wasn't the most wonderful situation to be in. Nina only stirred slightly at around dawn before she conked out again on Dwalin's chest, only to feel a slight chuckle from him. There was nothing funny about a sore butt. At some point after that, Nina woke herself fully, the sudden realization that this indeed was not a dream, and she found her mind wandering back to the tree she had seen before all of this. How had she seen it? She hoped Gandalf would know. He was supposed to be some all-powerful wizard and what-not after all.

"Where are we?" She murmured incoherently.

"Just go back to sleep lass, just stopping for the horse." Dwalin grunted as she felt herself float off the horse, which she presumed was Dwalin's doing. Blind or not, Nina was most definitely not a morning person. In the mornings, sometimes she forgot who she was and where she was, just from grogginess.

These arms were different though. They were warmer, and far lighter and thinner than Dwalin's, though quite muscular still. Nina opened her eyes wearily in a small attempt to wake herself, only to hear low chuckles.

"Dwalin?" She called out to anywhere, her panic rising. Had he given her up to a stranger? Nina would kill him if he did.

"You're fine, lass." He chuckled tightly, though his voice was not directly above her as if he was carrying her. So he wasn't.

"Who's got me?" She squeaked helplessly, earning a few more laughs from the strangers.

"I won't drop you, if that's what you're worried over. You weigh about the same as a blade of grass." Said a new voice. It was deep, though not the same sort of gruffness as Dwalin; it seemed gentler than that. Though he was a horrible liar whoever he was. Nina wasn't the lightest person in the world, and this stranger was obviously having trouble holding her by the sound of his strained voice.

"Yeah, sure." She snorted in response.

"She's a looker this one," Her carrier called presumably to Dwalin. "Very pretty."

"I suppose any young lady would be." Dwalin replied, oozing with uncomfortableness.

"I wish you would stop lying, it's really not your stronghold." Nina snapped lightly at the man. He laughed heartily.

"That's alright if you don't believe me lass, I can see it plain as day." He chuckled. Nina felt little offense at his statement about seeing things, though Dwalin obviously didn't take things as easily as Nina did.

"Bofur! Watch your tongue, man!" Dwalin barked. He was using his harsh tone that he had used with Nina when they first met. He continued in a softer whisper: "She's got no sight, you half-wit."

"Oh, my apologies Lady Nina," Bofur rushed pitifully. Nina chuckled lightly from in his arms.

"It's quite alright, I'm used to it. And you didn't know," She sighed. Nina was having a normal-person conversation with a dwarf. What the heck was happening to her?

"Well I truly am sorry lass." Bofur chuckled. Nina decided then, now that she had had a conversation with two dwarves that she wanted to go for a walk.

"Dwalin, do you mind if I walk around a minute, to stretch my legs?" She sighed, changing the subject.

"Don't stray far from the inn," Dwalin called. So they were at an inn. She nodded, presumed that he saw, and hobbled away a little. It was strange, being on ground she hadn't memorized. She stretched her hand out, feeling around for some kind of railing. Her hand hit a wall, and she staggered into the inn, unsure of herself.

"Hello young lady," An unfamiliar male voice addressed her. Nina jumped. "Oh, I didn't mean to scare you…" He trailed off, becoming too close for Nina's comfort. She frowned, and found herself about to call out for Dwalin.

"Excuse me, I need to get inside." Nina decided to say through gritted teeth, figuring that being inside where all of the people were would be safer. The man's firm hand grabbed her elbow and held her fast. "Let go of me." She squeaked, panicking. What were these Middle-Earth men like?

"What's your hurry, lass?" The man sneered.

"Please, leave me alone!" Nina shouted, unaware that she had alerted a certain pair of dwarven ears.

"Just cooperate!" The man hissed, shoving the helpless Nina onto the ground and moving to overpower her.

"Hey!" A familiar gruff voice growled. "Get your hands off her." Nina could have jumped for joy at the not-so-scary-now voice of Dwalin as he took down the horrid man. Nina didn't realize she had begun to cry until Dwalin had lifted her up, letting her stand but holding her steady.

"I never should've let you go off on your own like that," Dwalin grunted in anger as Nina shuddered in his arms. "Are you alright? That man was scum," He continued. Nina nodded frantically.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm not used to people acting like that, ever." She whispered hoarsely. Dwalin nodded.

Nina had always thought that she was tough, that she could handle herself. No one had ever tried to take advantage of Nina back home, but she could always be trusted to take care of herself. Now she realized that she wasn't at all the tough she girl she thought she was. She was a handicap blind girl, someone who needed help with everything. Even in Middle-Earth.

"Let's get back on the road then," He muttered, leading her back to the pony. It wasn't long at all before Dwalin had dragged Nina back to the pony, neither of them speaking until Bofur called his farewells to them.

"We'll meet again at the burglar's home then." Dwalin grunted at the other dwarf, simultaneously helping Nina situate herself onto the pony.

"Right you are Dwalin, safe travels. Will I be seeing the lass again?" Bofur called from the ground as Dwalin mounted the pony behind Nina.

"I don't think so." Dwalin effectively ended the conversation. Bofur said his farewells then both to Dwalin and surprisingly to Nina as well, and the two were off again.

"So, what happens to me when we reach the Shire?" Nina asked tentatively. It was about early afternoon, the sun high in the sky when Nina finally spoke to Dwalin after that morning's events with Bofur. Nina could hear Dwalin's heavy sigh from behind her and she assumed he hadn't thought that far in advance.

"Well," He cleared his throat gruffly. "I was thinking of letting you stay with a respectable hobbit fellow when we get to the Shire." He reasoned. Nina nodded her head thoughtfully, a small sense of fear washing over her at the thought of Dwalin just dropping her off in the Shire.

"Trust me lass, you don't want to get yourself caught up in our plans." Dwalin chuckled, saying so softly that Nina wasn't quite sure if she was supposed to have heard it. She snorted.

"Believe me I know," She mumbled to herself dryly.

The ride continued longer that day until night fell, when Dwalin informed her that they were about a day's journey from the Shire. Nina was relieved to hear this news, not only because she was sick of spending whole days on horseback, but also to be able to see Gandalf. She could think of plenty of people in her school back home that would be thrilled to be sucked into the hobbit, though Nina couldn't say she was one of them.

Never had Nina wanted more her painting supplies and her iPod; she could just paint her days away with some good music on. No, she remembered, she had this horrible thing called school. And school was requiring finals in every class and stupid analysis-work and essays on a stupid book called the Hobbit. Personally, Nina had always gotten the impression that the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings were all just Nerd Bibles with bad and depressing endings.

"So where are you from then, lass?" Dwalin broke Nina from her thoughts. She gulped, unsure of what to say.

"I'm not sure where exactly I am now, so I don't really get where I'm from." Nina hesitated. It had made no sense whatsoever, everything she had just said, so she tried fixing it. "My home was called Virginia though." She added, shrugging. Dwalin hummed thoughtfully.

"I don't know of this Virginia place, Lady Nina, but I'm sure our wizard will have heard of it."

"You really think so?" Nina peeped desperately. Dwalin chuckled at her comfortingly.

"You need not worry, lass. Gandalf knows almost everything there is to know. He's a wizard, after all."

"So are wizards considered all-powerful beings or something? Can he get me back to where I'm from?"

"I don't know, Lady Nina." Dwalin sighed heavily. "Do you have close family there?"

"My father, and my sister, are my family." Nina mumbled, feeling a pang of hurt surge through her at the mention of her family. Would she ever see them again? What did they think?

"I'm sure you will be back with them soon enough, Lady Nina," Dwalin encouraged. It was in vain though, since it made Nina no less panicked than before.

"You don't have to call me Lady Nina," Nina chuckled softly. "Nina is just fine."

"No lass, I've been raised to respect the womenfolk as have the rest of my kin, and I'll not stop that now." Dwalin insisted kindly. Nina rolled her eyes to herself. She was arguing with a dwarf.

It was dark when Dwalin whispered in Nina's ear to wake up. She hadn't even remembered going to sleep, but when she woke she could hear the occasional splashes of a pond, and the steady chorus of crickets. It was incredibly peaceful.

"I did not think about how it would be night when we got here," Dwalin grunted, obviously irritated with himself as he led Nina along by the arm. "I will not leave you with a stranger so late at night. Would you mind staying in the hobbit's house that I'm supposed to meet with?" Dwalin asked her, being sure to keep his words vague. She seemed nice, but he didn't trust her a single bit.

"Sure," Nina shrugged. "Thank you for letting me stay. But I don't want to be a burden," She said, mostly out of politeness. She didn't at all want to be left alone at night with a strange hobbit, but she didn't want to seem ungrateful to Dwalin.

"Before you ask, yes, we're in the Shire." Dwalin suppressed a smile as he saw Nina open her mouth ready to ask that very question. She promptly closed it.

"Do you know what house you're looking for?" Nina asked instead, noticing that they had been walking a good while ever since they had left his horse at a stable nearby. Dwalin grunted.

"Almost there," Dwalin growled, though she knew his anger wasn't directed at her, but at the situation. Nina found it to be the most comical aspect of Dwalin. When Nina heard three loud bangs, she jumped. Dwalin squeezed her arm slightly, and she realized he must have been knocking and there was no danger. This _was _Middle-Earth after all, Nina figured it couldn't hurt to stay on guard.

"Ah." A voice said as the creaking of old door hinges disrupted her thinking. The voice was definitely belonging to a man, but it was gentle and not gruff like Dwalin's, and he seemed…British. Nina internally rolled her eyes. She was going to be the only person in this world with an American accent, wasn't she?

"Dwalin, at your service." He bowed. Nina could tell that he was shielding her from who she was presumed must have been Bilbo if the story was correct.

"Bilbo Baggins, at yours." The flustered hobbit replied. Nina had to suppress a giggle. She wasn't a fan of the story, but she had to admit she always imagined hobbits looking very adorable.

"Come on," Dwalin pulled on Nina's hand and practically dragged her inside the house. She swiveled her head around in all directions, wondering if there were any other hobbits present.

"D-do we know each other?" Bilbo exclaimed, absolutely shocked by the rudeness of the burly dwarf shoving past him.

"No. Which way, laddie? Is it down here?" Dwalin asked urgently, pulling Nina along as he searched for who-knows-what.

"Is what down where?" Bilbo huffed, clearly not a fan of the current events. Nina smiled to herself. This hobbit reminded her of her sister.

"Supper." Dwalin answered, like it was the most obvious thing ever. Nina noticed that her stomach growled quite loudly at the mention of food, and she realized she hadn't had a decent meal in some days, only the quick snacks Dwalin provided on the road. "He said there'd be food, and lots of it."

"He being Gandalf, I hope?" Nina whispered to the dwarf quietly. Dwalin nodded.

"Aye, the wizard."

"Who said!?" Bilbo was currently calling after him. Nina felt some pity for Bilbo, since she knew this quest would turn out to be nothing but stressful to him in her opinion.

"I think you should be warned that we dwarves are…rather loud," Dwalin said as he pulled Nina aside. "Not all of them know how to behave around a lady."

"Believe me I've heard," Nina snorted under her breath. "I understand." She said more seriously. "What is it?" She asked, sensing his hesitance and discomfort.

"I don't know much of where you are from, Lady Nina, but I do think around here you'll want some different clothes." Dwalin explained uncomfortably. Nina must have turned beet red, as she remembered that she was wearing a tattered black tank top, her oddly-comfy grey cargo pants, and boots. All of which were in no condition to be worn in front of fourteen men. At least she had her bra, Nina thought. Something told her they didn't sell those here.

"You there." Dwalin called to Bilbo, who still looked quite confused at the whole ordeal. "Show this lady a room, and give her some proper clothes." Dwalin ordered, Bilbo looking baffled the whole time.

"Right this way," Bilbo grumbled, pressing a gentle hand on Nina's back and leading her to what she presumed to his bedroom. Then she cringed at how that sounded, considering her previous dealings with a Middle-Earth man other than Dwalin.

The hobbit hole had a certain smell about it, and Nina couldn't quite pin down what it was. It seemed to be quaint, and it smelled vaguely like that smell Nina smelled when she was around old people. There was a faint hint of fish smell as well, and from what she could deduce while walking through the hole with Bilbo, it was quite short in height.

"This is my uh…my room." Bilbo awkwardly showed her. Nina nodded, smiling down at Bilbo gently.

"Thank you very much, Mister Baggins. Could I have some clothes?" Nina asked politely. She felt a bit guilty at the way Dwalin had demanded Bilbo to take care of her, but she did want to keep her hygiene. Even in Middle-Earth.

"Oh! Yes, yes of course! I'm sorry, where are my manners—I…" Bilbo rambled, scurrying around the room yanking clothes from their orderly drawers. The clothes he set out were, of course, male clothes, although Nina felt that perhaps that would be the better choice since she would soon be in the company of thirteen men excluding Bilbo.

"Thank you so much, Mister Baggins."

"Um I uh, I put some hot water in a basin for you, to you know, wash up." Bilbo stammered awkwardly. Nina smiled again, this time out of pure gratitude.

"You're the best! Thanks!" Nina exclaimed, wrapping Bilbo in an unexpected hug. She must have been really tired.

"Um, thank you." Bilbo blushed from the rash action. Nina smiled, not seeing his blush but knowing it had to be there based off of his tone. "How did you know my name?" He finally asked. Nina inwardly cursed herself for being so careless. She couldn't very well tell him she read the book, could she?

"I um, I heard you say it to Dwalin at the door." She scrambled for an excuse. Bilbo seemed to believe it, and said his parting words to Nina before shutting the door and leaving her to herself.

Nina ran her hands up and down the soft, warm clothes she had been given. She smiled, knowing that they were fairly normal clothes and not too different than her normal wardrobe. The dark-brown pants that she put on reached her mid-calves (after she had scrubbed and dried her underwear of course), but the high boots she had came up to her knees and tucked in the pants nicely. The shirt was cream-colored, which Bilbo had told her before he left, and was loose on the arms and fell down to her elbows. The outfit was overall comfortable.

Nina reached her hands into the basin of water and cupped them to capture some water. She splashed it up into her face, basking in the feeling of utter cleanness and familiarity. This felt much like a hot shower back home, and for at least a moment she felt like she was bathing back in her two-story home in Virginia. Soon enough, the hot water and her homesick tears couldn't be differentiated, and she longed for her father's secure arms and her sister's scolding voice.

"This is the only closed door I bet the good ale's in here!" A male voice tore Nina from her reminiscing, and she panicked. "MAHAL WHAT THE—" He bellowed as a basin now empty attacked him.

"Dwalin!" Nina called in panic, her voice weak from crying. He probably didn't hear her.

"Why did you throw this at me?!" The man demanded, shoving the basin off of him and rubbing his head. "Mahal, I've never been attacked by a woman…" He trailed off in a grunt.

"I'm sorry, I don't know who you are, I didn't mean to," She rambled, hearing the man's footsteps approach her. "Get back I'll hit you again!" Nina shouted, holding up a towel threateningly. Then she realized it was a towel.

"I don't know that that will hurt too much," He grinned, gesturing to the towel. Nina dropped it to the ground haphazardly, sighing.

"Well who are you?" She grumbled, assuming that this was a dwarf now that she had regained her senses.

"Kili, at your service."

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**Oh my goodness, I finished this chapter! I was really busy horse-shopping (is that a thing?) this weekend, and I literally just sat down. This chapter was actually pretty hard for me to work out and write this chapter, and I'm not exactly 100% happy with it's turn out either :/ But I have to say, the reviews, favorites, and follows definitely made me sit down and finish this chapter. Thanks to all of you!**

**Katara: Haha thank you so much for the review, and don't worry there will be more than two chapters soon enough! I have the same reaction when I read fanfics I like :) thank you!**

**Katelyn: Awwww you're so sweet! I look forward to more reviews from you and you really motivated me to keep writing this chapter :) **

**Guest: Yes, it will be interesting to see how she reacts to fighting... ;) **

**Wolfshark: Thank you, and I'm glad my story has gotten your attention!**

**Alexma: Thanks for the review, and I won't abandon this story!**

**Guest: Thanks for the review! :) **


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"_Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." –Mark Twain_

* * *

"Fili, Oin, Gloin, Dwalin, Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori…Ori." Gandalf counted off frantically. "Where's your brother, Fili?" He inquired at the blonde dwarf, who was currently struggling to roll a barrel of ale into the small dining area. Fili looked up with a bright smile.

"I think he's gone off to fetch some more ale for us," Fili answered cheerfully. Gandalf sighed lightheartedly—perhaps these dwarves had had enough ale already. "I do believe we are one dwarf short, though." Gandalf huffed to himself, frowning at the count.

"He's late, is all. He travelled north to a meeting of our kin. He will come." Dwalin answered Gandalf, his voice slurred a bit no doubt from the tankard of ale he kept raising to his lips.

"Look what I found!" A familiar young voice called out merrily to any of them that would listen. Gandalf turned his head to see the young Kili striding up to them with a cowering, much smaller figure behind him. Gandalf didn't miss the protective, concerned expression Dwalin got when Kili and his mystery guest arrived.

"Ah, and who might you be?" Gandalf smiled warmly down at the figure, trying to out whoever they were at ease.

"Her name is Nina, and she's with me." Dwalin grunted in reply to Gandalf's question.

"I see," Gandalf muttered. "Come now then, Nina, no one here is a threat to you. Tell me how you have come to dwell in our company this evening."

"I um…" Nina stammered. Now that Gandalf could look at her, he saw that she was small in stature, but not exactly weightless from her looks. She had golden hair, like the sun, and her eyes were a deep, dark blue. And yet there was an odd sort of pale film shielding the pure color. "I got very lost, and Dwalin found me in the woods." She said, not meeting his gaze.

"I see," Gandalf nodded. "We can talk about that later. I am Gandalf, Gandalf the Grey." He gave a slight bow, and Nina smiled, relieved.

"Yes, we need to talk later Gandalf." She breathed in relief. Gandalf smiled, then turned his attention on Dori, who seemed to be taking drink orders.

She had found Gandalf. Nina felt the weight of a cinder block lift off of her shoulders, and she allowed herself to smile genuinely for the first time since she had been dumped into this god forsaken place.

* * *

"So, how do you get around?" Ori was currently asking her. He didn't seem like a traditional dwarf, with his soft and polite voice that Nina had to strain to hear. His hands were covered in knitted mittens, which she found out when he took her hand to lead her to the table where they were all eating.

"Where I come from, the area was small and I could memorize my surroundings enough to get around well. I guess now I have to be assisted and feel my way around." She explained politely to the sweet dwarf. He chuckled shyly.

"Well if you need anything, all of us would be willing to help you." Ori smiled warmly. Nina smiled, hearing his own smile in his words.

"Who wants an ale? There you go." Fili shouted above the deafening ruckus of the dwarves, walking on the table. She could hear his stomping on the table.

"Get off my food!" Kili whacked his leg from across the table. The outbursts were unyielding and never ceased, not until someone bellowed:

"One, two, three!" And all was silent. Nina looked around in vain, frowning, and a small bit of panic bubbled up inside of her. What happened?

"What's happening?" She squealed softly before she could think. The only response she got was a loud, incredibly disgusting belch. The dwarves immediately started screaming and cheering again, and Nina. Without their noise, Nina couldn't tell what they were doing.

"Well, I'm just about full now," One of the dwarves grunted, and before long all of them had left the table. Nina stayed, sitting and picking through her plate.

"You didn't drink even a drop of ale," Kili said, carelessly slamming an ale on the table. Nina looked up to the source of his voice.

"I'm not old enough to drink," She mumbled, quite exhausted.

"Not old enough?" Kili gasped, clearly genuinely shocked. Nina suppressed a smirk.

"Where I come from we have a certain age you have to be in order to drink, but I am too young."

"Well you're not there now," Kili reasoned happily, causing a pang of homesickness to bubble up in her stomach. "Go on. Have a taste of it." He sat down across from her, waiting with eager eyes.

"Why not," She mumbled to herself, feeling for a minute before settling her hands firmly on the large tankard. She lifted it carefully to her lips, and dipped it back to take in some of the liquid. It was sweet, almost, and yet it definitely had a bit of a kick to it.

"Well? See, now you know what you've been missin'." Kili laughed, and Nina tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Why are you laughing at me?"

"You've got a bit of a thing there…" Kili chuckled awkwardly. Nina flinched slightly when his warm, rather large fingers brushed her upper lip, brushing off the foamy mustache she had gotten from the ale. "There you go." He laughed.

"Oh, well that's embarrassing." Nina groaned lightly, giving her face a good, ungraceful wipe. Kili laughed again, seemingly the most lighthearted dwarf she had talked to. It made sense to her, that he would be the happiest dwarf, since he was the youngest if she had read the Hobbit correctly. Then again she hadn't talked to Fili yet.

"Here you go, Ori, give it to me." They heard Fili saying from in the corridor. Kili jumped up from his seat abruptly.

"Oh we haven't done this since we were wee lads in Ered Luin!" Kili exclaimed to himself as he jumped up from his chair to join his brother. Nina gasped at the sudden movements, and felt her way out of the room to follow him.

"Ooh d'hear that, lads?" He says we'll blunt the knives!" The very familiar voice of Bofur was teasing. Once she heard the beat starting to pick up, Nina knew exactly what was coming next. The song.

_Blunt the knives, bend the forks  
Smash the bottles and burn the corks  
Chip the glasses and crack the plaaaates  
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates! _

They tossed the plates and dishes around, cleaning and carrying on merrily, and Nina was surprised to find herself laughing along with them. The song continued, and soon Nina was clapping along with them.

_Cut the cloth and tread on the fat  
Leave the bones on the bedroom mat  
Pour the milk on the pantry floor  
Splash the wine on every door  
Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl  
Pound them up with a thumping pole  
When you've finished, if any are whole  
Send them down the hall to roll_

Bofur played on his flute, and everyone piled on the dishes, making them clean. Nina imagined it would have been quite a spectacle if she had seen it.

_THAT'S WHAT BILBO BAGGINS HATES!_

* * *

"Tell me, Mr. Baggins, have you done much fighting?" Thorin sneered sarcastically, circling the hobbit like a hawk. Bilbo gulped, rocking back on his heels nervously.

"Pardon me?"

"Axe or sword?" Thorin prompted impatiently.

"Well, I have some skill at Conkers, if you must know, but I fail to see why that's relevant." Bilbo muttered uneasily as Thorin stared him down.

"Thought as much." Thorin shrugged, the twelve other dwarves watched him readily. "He looks more like a grocer than a burglar." They all laughed heartily.

"Why would you say that?" A small, female voice piped up. Bilbo looked up to see the blind woman stagger through the dwarves, who parted for her, and stand before Thorin staring at where his voice had come from.

"Who are you?" Thorin grunted with contempt. Bilbo felt worried for her, but she seemed to be unafraid. Maybe it was because she couldn't see his intimidating scowl.

"Bilbo has been very stressed out, and everyone has been ruining his home. Cut him some slack!" She exclaimed, waving her arms about weirdly as she spoke. Dwalin stepped between her and Thorin before Thorin could say anything.

"I found her on the road, alone and lost. She doesn't remember anything." Dwalin filled him in gruffly. Thorin glared at his friend. "Thorin, she's a blind, confused girl. Let her be for now, I will talk to her." He whispered the last part. Thorin nodded reluctantly.

"My dear Lady Nina, do you think you could possibly spare a moment for me?" Gandalf interrupted the stare-down between Nina and Thorin, shuffling his feet as he narrowly avoided the chandelier. Bilbo cringed. This company was too destructive of his quaint home!

"Sure," Nina nodded, seeming to relax when she heard Gandalf's kind voice again. She allowed him to take her arm and lead her to the sitting room a little ways from the company, so that none could hear them. Thorin then promptly began greeting his fellow dwarves, smiling brightly and embracing his nephews, Fili and Kili. Bilbo had learned from Fili that the two were nephews of Thorin.

"Come, what news from the Iron Hills?" Dwalin was asking him as they all moved to the dining room from before, Bilbo hurrying to produce some kind of food for the rude dwarf before he attacked the poor hobbit. If there was any left.

* * *

"So, Lady Nina, may I ask how exactly you came to be in Mister Dwalin's company?" Gandalf inquired gently, with a hint of suspicion. Something told Nina that Gandalf saw right through her story of being lost.

"Something happened, Gandalf. I don't know what is happening, so I had to tell Dwalin that I was lost. I didn't know who to trust or what to do." Nina explained quickly. Gandalf nodded thoughtfully.

"And what is it that you think happened, Lady Nina?" He asked more pensively.

"I'm not from this world, Gandalf. There are no wizards, no dwarves, no hobbits, no Middle-Earth!" She panicked. Nina started hyperventilating, something she seemed to do when she was freaked out—something that seemed to be happening a lot nowadays.

"Lady Nina, please!" Gandalf raised his voice, startling Nina into silence. "I cannot help you if you do not tell me everything there is to know."

"I come from Virginia," Nina started with a deep breath. "In the United States of America. On a planet called Earth?" She tried, only getting a confused grunt from Gandalf as a reply. Her heart sank. "Oh, what's the use?!"

"Please, I must know all of it." He pushed her gently.

"There was a hurricane, or I guess it was the aftermath of a hurricane, and I was caught in it. There was a tree…" She shook her head, still wondering how she had seen that tree. "It hit me. The next thing I knew I was stuck in this Middle-Earth place. Gandalf, you have to get me back home." Nina finished stressfully. Gandalf sighed heavily.

"I do not know that that is in my power, I'm afraid." Nina made a small whimpering noise. "But I think I know someone who can get you back." He added hopefully. Nina felt joy, relief, and exhaustion all bubble up and overwhelm her. She could get home and see her family.

"Get back where?" Bilbo peeped from where he leaned against the doorframe. Gandalf smiled warmly.

"Ah, Bilbo, I see you have decided to join us."

"Where are you trying to get back to?" Bilbo asked again politely after nodding to Gandalf.

"I need to get back home," Nina answered shakily, feeling her throat swell up and tears threatening her eyes. "I don't know how."

"Perhaps you could tell Thorin that I wish to speak with him, Bilbo, my dear fellow." Gandalf suggested, shooting him a meaningful look. Bilbo nodded and hurried off, no doubt dreading the task of speaking to Thorin Oakenshield. Nina sighed, swiping the tears from her cheeks and stared off for what seemed like hours before heavy footsteps stomped into the room. She hoped to God that Gandalf hadn't left her.

"What is it?" Thorin's unmistakable voice addressed Gandalf coolly. Gandalf sighed, obviously not looking forward to the stubborn dwarf's reaction.

"I think we need to keep Lady Nina with us for just a little while. I do not think it would be wise to leave her alone in the Shire." Gandalf resolved in a low, serious tone. Nina could feel Thorin's anger.

"No."

"Thorin, please, the girl is lost, and her situation is quite…unusual. I think it'd be better if we kept her with us where she'd be safe for the time being." Gandalf reasoned. Nina looked up to the source of their voices hopefully. She hated Thorin, but if staying with him meant Gandalf would help her then she would do it.

"What do you mean by unusual?" Thorin eyed the wizard skeptically.

"Perhaps it is best you simply trust me on this, Thorin." Gandalf advised soberly. "You have enough to worry yourself over."

"How long do you plan on keeping the girl?" Thorin growled impatiently.

"As long as needed, I am not yet sure if my plan could work."

"What plan?"

"Leave it to me, Thorin!" Gandalf's old voice boomed through the small house. Nina flinched at its intensity.

"She will be a burden, and I will not have my men distracted or hurt because of her." Thorin argued. Gandalf sighed.

"She will not be a burden, I will care for her if need be. However I do think there is more to this young lady than we all seem to think." Gandalf hinted. Nina furrowed her eyebrows, frowning. What kind of warrior could she be? She'd never fought a day in her life.

"Very well, have it your way. But her safety is not my responsibility." Thorin reluctantly agreed. Nina couldn't help the small smile of relief that spread across her face.

"Agreed." Gandalf settled.

"We leave at dawn, make sure your girl is up." Thorin grunted, promptly leaving the two others.

"Get some sleep, Lady Nina. Tomorrow will be quite a day for you, and there will be much adjusting for you." Gandalf chuckled, leaving her to the quiet crackling of the fire and distant singing.

_Far over, the Misty Mountains cold…_

Great. Nina sighed as she curled herself up in a ball on the floor next to the fire, pulling a blanket from the chair behind her onto her body.

_To dungeons deep, and caverns old…_

She sighed again, a bit annoyed that she was going to have to go on Thorin's quest for at least a little while. Until Gandalf figured things out. How long would that be?

_We must away, ere break of day…_

She felt her eyelids grow heavy as she realized she was, in fact, very tired from the day's events. Nina finally let her eyes shut, and drifted off to the tune of the song that would soon define her whether she knew it or not.

_To find our long-forgotten gold._

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**Oooooh! Well I liked the ending, soooo victory! If you haven't already noticed, I didn't update yesterday when I was supposed to. It's because I have had an emotionally stressful week with my close friend, and it has only gotten a little bit better :/ so I'm sorry the update was a day late. **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"_I think we all suffer from acute blindness at times. Life is a constant journey of trying to open your eyes. I'm just beginning my journey, and my eyes aren't fully open yet."_—Olivia Thirlby

* * *

"Lady Nina, come, it's time to go." Dwalin shook her awake gently. Nina opened her eyes slowly, rubbing a hand over her face. She was so tired.

"Is it even daylight yet?" Nina groaned in protest, feeling like she had only just fell asleep.

"It is almost daylight, yes." Dwalin chuckled softly at her. "I let you sleep as long as possible; I know you've had a rough few days." He sighed, helping her up from her spot by the dead fire.

"Almost is the key word there, Dwalin." Nina grunted as he assisted her. "Almost."

"Come on now, if you want to get any breakfast before we leave." Dwalin replied, Nina hearing the smile in his voice.

She walked out of the room on her own, staying close enough to walls so that she could keep a hand out to guide her at all times. She followed her nose to the kitchen, smelling the beautiful smell of bacon and sausage. She took in a good whiff of it, and was startled when a warm plate was shoved into her arms.

"It's a little crowded in there, thought I'd just bring it to you." An unfamiliar voice said to her, helping her sit down in a soft arm chair. "Fili, at your service." Nina smiled.

"You sound like your brother," She smirked. Fili sat down in the chair next to her, noisily chomping on his own plate of breakfast.

"How did you know we were brothers?" He asked through a mouthful of food. Nina mentally face-palmed. _Oh, you know, I read about your sibling-ness in the book!_ She sighed.

"Fili, Kili, it'd be a really unfortunate coincidence if you weren't." She mumbled. Fili let out a hearty laugh, clapping her gently on the back.

"I suppose that's true!" He chuckled. Nina managed to chuckle with him, allowing herself to relax a little. Gandalf was going to get her back home somehow, and there was nothing she could do until then. Despite this, Nina couldn't help but to think of her own sister, Madison, whenever she thought of Fili and Kili. This led her to wonder whether they thought she was dead or not…

"Hellooooo?" Fili was saying, snapping his fingers in front of her face. Nina blinked quickly out of reflex, then glared pointedly in the direction of Fili. He shied away. "Sorry," He stammered.

"It's fine." She huffed, unable to really stay annoyed with the young dwarf.

"We're heading out, Fili!" Bofur called to them, shooting Fili a questioning glance and jerking his thumb at Nina. Fili nodded.

"We're coming, Bofur." He called back, answering the unspoken question that Nina was in fact coming with them. Bofur nodded with a wide grin, and headed out the door with bundles of supplies.

"I guess that's the end of breakfast," Nina half-pouted as Fili helped her walk out of the door. Fili chuckled, releasing her arm when she waved him off.

"You'd better get used to shorter meals if you're travelling with us, Lady Nina."

"Please, I wish you'd all just call me Nina." She huffed, letting the railing outside of Bilbo's house guide her toward the noise of the dwarves. Fili fell in step behind her. "Um…where's Dwalin?" She asked, realization dawning on her that she couldn't ride a horse on her own.

"Ah, I see you have decided to join us." Gandalf's distinct voice cut in before Fili could answer her. Nina gave a tight smile.

"Gandalf, could you tell me where Dwalin is?" She asked, trying not to sound too eager to get back with the dwarf that had become a comforting presence to her.

"He is to be riding in the front of our company with Thorin and Balin, and I'm afraid his pony does not have the room for the both of you." A pang of fear went through her at this news, and she panicked, thinking that they would make her attempt to steer a horse—blind.

"She could ride with me if she wants to." Another voice piped up. From the sound of it, Nina could tell that he was already on his pony, and that he was Kili.

"Are you sure?" She asked him, half-hoping they'd just make her walk.

"O' course! C'mon." Kili held out his hand, letting his fingers brush her shoulder so she would know he was there. Nina sighed, hoping that Kili was a safe horseman. She took his hand, letting out a surprised yelp when he swung her up in front of him with ease. "You're light as a feather, girl." He mumbled in amusement, earning a pointed glare from Nina.

"Are all dwarves bad at lying, or just the ones in this company?" She retorted. Kili snorted, nudging their horse forward.

* * *

"It's so beautiful out here," Nina sighed contentedly, allowing the light breeze to blow against her face. Kili adjusted his position behind her, his muscles stiffening a little.

"I don't mean to be rude, but how would you know?" He said, his breath tickling her ear in their awkwardly close proximity.

"I imagine things the way I want them to be, since I can't see them for what they truly are. But either way, some things you don't need to sight to see. Sometimes I can just tell, I can feel that this is a beautiful place." She explained. She felt Kili relax behind her, and she chuckled softly to herself.

"What's so funny?" He asked, clearly puzzled. Nina let a little laugh out.

"You dwarves." She answered. "You all tense up and get really uncomfortable whenever my blindness is mentioned. I've lived with no sight the overwhelming majority of my life, it's not a secret that no one can talk about."

"Sorry," He mumbled, and she could sense that there was more he wanted to say. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"How did you…learn things? Since you can't see, how did you learn things?" He stammered, the other dwarves tuning in to the conversation to hear her answer. Nina sighed, how does one explain modern education to dwarves?

"I went to a school where all of the people were blind, like me. We go there for four years, and then we get to go be adults. I'm in my last year," She paused, actually missing her school for a moment. Who would've thought she'd ever miss blind school? "Anyway, we read by running our hands over the paper, and the letters are bumpy dots, and each pattern means a new letter, and that's how we read.

"Writing is kind of complicated for normal people to get, but I'll try to explain it. We have this slate, with rows of pins like in two single file lines of three. Then we have a stylus, or…a stick, and we use that to poke through the holes of the pins, or cells, and that's how we write. Well, that's the simplified version of it anyway."

"Mahal, that sounds difficult!" One of the dwarves called from a little farther ahead. Nina looked up to the source of the voice, her face going red.

"Were they _all _listening?" She whispered to Kili. She felt his chest rise and fall quickly in laughter, chuckling at her.

"Nah, just most of us." He teased, earning him an elbow to the side. "Hey now, feisty girl!" He coughed in mock hurt. Nina found herself genuinely laughing, unable to keep hold of the stress she had feeling lately.

"Come on, you're not _that _weak, are you?" She teased back. Kili laughed with her, shaking his head at the strange girl.

"Oh trust me, he is!" Fili replied from beside them on his own pony. This only fueled Nina's laughter, though Kili just scowled lightly at his brother.

"You're one to talk, Fee. Remember that time when mother scared the living daylights out of ya?" Kili retorted, peaking Nina's interest.

"When was this?" She pried.

"A few years ago, Thorin told us a story meant to frighten us into obedience (even though we're grown dwarves) and Fili got so scared that our mother couldn't resist the opportunity to fool him." Kili explained.

"So she jumped out at me dressed like some mad man, and I screamed." Fili mumbled, finishing the story. Kili threw his head back, tearing up from laughing so hard.

"The look on his face, and the girlish scream were priceless!" Kili choked out through the fits of laughter seizing him. Nina laughed at that, just imagining the scenario.

"Oh shut up, Kee! I'm sure there's plenty of stories about you I could tell!" Fili argued good-naturedly.

"Please, tell me," Nina laughed in the direction of Fili. He happily complied, and the two brothers took turns trying to outdo the other with embarrassing stories about each other.

* * *

"Well I'm beat," Nori sighed, stretching out beside the fire.

They had made camp that night in the rocks, some curling up in their blankets and going to sleep as soon as they finished eating while some lingered by the fire. Bilbo had chased down and joined them during the afternoon, just as Nina was expecting based on the book. He was currently tossing and turning, trying to find sleep despite Bombur's excessive snoring.

"Night, Nori." Fili called to him as Nori bundled up his things to move to a sleeping place. Nina stayed close to the warm fire, letting it warm her up as she listened to the soft conversing between Fili and Kili, who were on watch that night.

"You should get some sleep, Nina." Fili called gently to her. Nina didn't move, just basking in the warmth of the fire and trying to remain locked in her thoughts of home. "Dwalin asked me to make sure you slept good." She looked to him at the mention of Dwalin, who she hadn't been able to talk to the whole day.

"I'm not that tired…" She trailed off with a yawn, trying not to show her tiredness. She heard chuckles from both Fili and Kili as they urged her to go to sleep.

"Please, Nina, just get some sleep." Fili urged her.

Nina squirmed uncomfortably, remembering the night before. She had slept well in Bilbo's home of course, but she had been plagued with unsettling dreams. She kept seeing that tree falling onto her, _seeing _it. She hardly remembered what a tree looked like, let alone one falling on her in the middle of a chaotic storm. Nina shuddered, suddenly feeling afraid of that storm. The creeping thought that the storm could hit here got to her, and she was shaking before she could control it.

"Why didn't you say you were cold…?" Kili muttered under his breath as he noticed her shaking. Nina really wasn't cold, but she didn't protest when Kili pulled his cloak around her and fastened the clasp around her neck. Nina turned to face him awkwardly as he pulled her long, blonde hair out from under the hood, letting it fall easily around her.

"Thank you," She peeped, feeling a little safer once she had been reminded that the two dwarves meant her no harm. She noticed vaguely that the cloak smelled like campfire—presumably from the fire right in front of him—and disgusting sweat. Like, it wasn't that endearing bad smell, it was just gross. Nasty, gross, dwarf smell.

"Now get some sleep," He said, his voice so soft that she could hardly decipher if it was real. "Come on, I don't want to be riding with a grump tomorrow." He grunted, both of the dwarf brothers helping her to lay down in between them. She felt oddly safe there, with Fili and Kili on either side, able to protect her. She felt an odd sense of comfort—that was until the screeching started.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Soooo, sorry for the delay. I got a horse! *jumps up and down excitedly* and...I also officially lost a friend... *awkwardly sits back down*...but writing has kept me going, and I promise that this I won't abandon this story or my other two. I wanted to give a quick thanks to kitcat12 for the help with the research on how people that are blind read and write, I hope I described it right :) **

**Also, thanks to those who reviewed/followed/favorited this story, it means a lot and I hope you all stay with me even though I didn't update when I should have. **

**So I have this idea, that maybe if any of you have any Hobbit related fanfics that you've written/are writing you could leave a review or PM me the title of it and a little description/summary and I could shout it out in my author's notes. I know I'm not a hugely popular author here, but I thought it might be fun soooo if its stupid just tell me...here's an example:**

**_Sleep of the Sword_ by StuckInTomorrowsDream  
When Tari finds some unexpected intruders in Mirkwood,  
her whole life is changed as she uncovers mysteries from her past, and  
is forced to discover her destined fate. This story follows the wood-elves  
Tari and her older sister Tauriel as they struggle to decide where  
their loyalties lie: with their kin, or with the Company of Thorin Oakenshield.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"_Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything." -George Bernard Shaw _

* * *

"This is totally and completely your fault!" Nina groaned as she yanked at the chains pinning down her arms. She knew that Fili could hear her from where he was, she just wished she could see his guilty face.

"I know, I know," Fili grunted in response. Nina groaned again, letting her head loll back.

The screeching had started about three hours ago, and Fili had promised her that he would protect her throughout the attack. It had been a pack of Orcs, and Nina was very furious when she discovered that somehow Azog the Orc was living. In the book, Nina knew that he had died long ago, but apparently everything was going to be difficult now.

Fili had dodged an Orc's sword during the attack, leaving Nina to take the blow. It wasn't a major thing; just a cut on her cheek. As a result, Fili and Nina had been separated from the company and captured, now to be held captive as a trap for Thorin.

"How are we getting out of this?" Nina gasped, fighting to remain conscious. She heard the rattle of chains and assumed that Fili was moving closer.

"Hey, stay with me Nina," He encouraged. She felt a warm hand envelope her shoulder, causing her to smile a little.

"Yeah, I'm trying." She breathed, letting her head hang. Fili shook her, trying his best to keep both of them full of strength. They were going to need it. Fili looked out into the horizon before the two of them, as they were locked in ruins. One thought tugged at his mind: where was Thorin?

* * *

"We cannot just leave them," Bilbo breathed incredulously. He was still in shock from the Orc attack that they had endured, and was even more shocked that Thorin hadn't yet began trying to get Fili and Nina back.

"He's my brother, _your nephew, _Thorin!" Kili strode up beside his uncle, his face set and determined. "If you will not get them back, I will!"

"Kili!" Thorin roared, swinging around on Kili. "Do you not think I am trying to figure out what to do? Azog will kill us all!" Kili fell silent. The others crowded around them, none of them willing to speak up.

"Wait, where are the ponies?" Bilbo put in after a long silence. They all looked around anxiously to find that, in fact, the ponies were nowhere to be seen.

"I thought you were watching them!" "Don't look to me, I thought it was you!" "Don't blame me!" The dwarves all fought amongst themselves.

"Over there!" Bilbo whisper-screamed. "What's that light?" Kili moved alongside Bilbo to see the light.

"Trolls," Kili growled, Bilbo following him as the two moved deeper into the forest.

"He's got Myrtle and Minty!" Bilbo exclaimed. "I think they're going to eat them, we have to do something!"

"Yes, you should." Kili looked at him, realization dawning on him. "Mountain trolls are slow and stupid, and you're so small. They'll never see you!"

"No!" Bilbo finally managed to squeak in protest.

"Come on, it'll be perfectly safe, and we can't get my brother and Nina without ponies." Kili met him in the eye desperately. "Please, you are our burglar, after all."

"No…no…" Bilbo stammered as Kili practically shoved Bilbo toward the troll camp.

"I'll be right behind you." Kili whispered as he shoved him further. "If you run into trouble, hoot twice like a barn owl, once like a brown owl."

"Twice like a barn owl, twice like a brown—once like a brown? Are you this is a god idea…?"

But Kili was already gone.

* * *

"Where is he?!" The Orc roared menacingly, scaring the living daylights out of Nina. It was terrifying to only be able to imagine what this monster looked like. She screamed a blood-curdling scream as the Orc grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and yanked her up. Her strength was waning.

"Get your hands off of her!" Fili bellowed from somewhere next to her. The foul stench of the Orc's breath filled Nina's nose, and it was all she could do not to hurl right then and there.

"You think you can stand against me, _dwarf_?" The Orc growled at Fili, dropping Nina to the ground abruptly. He moved to face Fili, and Nina could almost feel the fear Fili was having. "Do _you _know where Thorin Oakenshield is? You must…" He trailed off, striding over to pick up a large knife.

"I'll never tell you!" Fili spat weakly at the Orc's feet. Nina was puzzled for a minute as to why Fili hadn't included her in that statement, and then it occurred to her that the dwarves did not know that she knew what their quest was. She didn't know whether or not she should be hurt by their secrecy.

"Please…don't hurt him…" Nina gasped in a weak voice as her strength finally started to really fail her. Then the world went black as the sound of Fili screaming filled her ears.

* * *

"What are you then? An oversized squirrel?" Tom the troll sneered at Bilbo as he wriggled in his grasp. Bilbo thought regretfully over the previous few minutes, when he tried to save the ponies, got sneezed on, was about to be eaten by disgusting creatures, and was currently covered in troll snot.

"I'm a burglar—uhh, Hobbit." Bilbo stammered, not exactly sure that calling himself a burglar would be advantageous in the current situation.

"A Burgla-Hobbit?" The second troll, he believed his name was William, said daftly.

"Can we cook him?" Said Tom.

"We can try!"

"NO!" Bilbo squealed as he finally escaped their grasp and ran from them. They trapped him on all sides, but Bilbo kept dodging them quickly.

"He wouldn't make more than a mouthful, not when he's skinned and boned," Bert, the third troll, growled as he knocked Bilbo with his disgusting ladle that Bilbo was sure was full of diseases.

"Perhaps there's more Burglar-Hobbits around these parts. Might be enough to make a pie!" He shoved the ladle at Bilbo harder. Bilbo attempted to run again, when Tom finally caught him roughly.

"Gotcha!" He exclaimed victoriously, dangling Bilbo in the air helplessly. "Are there any more of you little fellas hiding around where you shouldn't?"

"No, no of course not." Bilbo peeped, knowing it was at least half of the truth—there weren't any more Hobbits that he knew of.

"He's lying." Bert eyed him suspiciously.

"No I'm not!"

"Hold his toes over the fire, make him squeal!" William grinned maliciously. Bilbo was slightly shocked at the malice of the trolls.

"Drop him!" A familiar voice bellowed courageously as Bilbo strained to see Kili slice at a troll's leg with his sword, earning a loud howl from it.

"You what?" Tom growled at the little dwarf.

"I said," Kili growled back, equally as vicious. "Drop. Him."

With a horrid grunt, the trolls hurled Bilbo through the air to land on Kili, knocking them down to the ground. Bilbo grunted an apology to Kili who nodded back quickly. The dwarves then burst out of the brush, slicing at the trolls and fighting with such grace. Kili wasted no time in joining them, leaving Bilbo to endeavor to complete his task of freeing the ponies. As he ran, Tom snatched him up and held him by the arms and legs, ready to rip him apart.

"Lay down your arms, or we'll rip his off." Tom smirked. Bilbo looked at the dwarves pleadingly, and his heart sunk as he saw the disappointed look on Thorin's face. They reluctantly dropped their weapons, allowing themselves to be stripped and stuffed into sacks.

* * *

"Nina, wake up." Fili whispered in her ear, his voice sounding foggy as she slowly returned to consciousness.

"Fili…" She groaned, subconsciously curling against his chest. She felt safer there. She was also half-asleep and his smell wasn't as bad when she was in such a state.

"You have to get up, we don't have much time." He gently pulled her away from him and cupped her face to keep her awake. "Listen to me." He shook her.

"What do you mean?"

"I got my chains off." He whispered. "I got yours loose just now, I need you to help me and then we have to run."

"Where would we go?" Nina looked into the direction of his voice with her brows furrowed.

"Anywhere but here," He snorted. "We can figure it out. But for now we need to get you free." Nina nodded slowly, moving herself so she could move her hands better. She wriggled violently, cringing when the chains seemed deafeningly loud.

"Hurry," She whispered as Fili took over, and she heard footsteps coming closer. She felt her spirits lift a little when the weight of the chains fell from her wrists, and she moved them and rubbed them gently.

"My weapons are over there, let's go." Fili pulled her up by the elbow. He led her with him, knowing that she didn't have the slightest idea of where she was going.

"Just a little farther now," Fili coached her on. Nina hissed through her teeth, an awful stinging in her temple. "He cut it." Fili informed her gently as he strapped his swords and daggers to himself.

"That's nice," Nina sighed. Fili chuckled a little beside her.

"He knew that dwarves are stronger than the race of Men, so I supposed he knew he had a better chance torturing you for information." Fili explained. Nina frowned as they walked hurriedly through the corridors.

"But I was unconscious…"

"He knew that it would affect me more if you were the one getting hurt." Nina hung her head low, avoiding the gaze she knew he was fixing on her.

"Fili?" She peeped, laying a gentle hand onto his arm. He stopped. "Thank you."

And for one moment, Fili was glad that Nina was blind. That way she couldn't see the smile he was fighting.

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Hey guys, sooo sorry for the wait but...life. So thank you in advance to those of you who stuck out the wait and are going to continue sticking with this story. I'm not super happy with this chapter, but it's a set-up for the next one. By the way, I know I went waayyy away from the storyline, but this is a fanfic soo we'll get back to the book story soon enough. **

**thanks for the review from katara :) please review guys, and see ya next chapter! **


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"_Love isn't something you find. Love is something that finds you."_ _–Loretta Young_

* * *

"You will pay for this!" Kili shouted, trying his hardest to sound threatening while he was practically naked in a sack. The trolls laughed heartily as they turned half of the dwarves on a spit.

"Don't bother cooking them. Let's just sit on them, and squash them into jelly!" One of the trolls bellowed suddenly.

"They should be sautéed and grilled with a sprinkle of sage." A second replied. The dwarves all shouted their protests to this, and Bilbo stepped up (or rather hobbled up) to the trolls.

"Wait! You are making a terrible mistake," He gasped, his voice shaking.

"You can't reason with them, they're halfwits!" One of the dwarves shouted angrily from the spinning spit.

"Halfwits? What does that make us?" Bofur replied from the spit. Bilbo rolled his eyes subtly.

"I meant with the seasoning," Bilbo stammered.

"Let him speak," One of the trolls held a hand to stop the others' protesting before it began.

"Have you smelt them? You're going to need something stronger than sage to plate this lot up." Of course, the dwarves protested vehemently.

"Shut up!" The cook-troll shouted at the dwarves, leaning in closer to Bilbo.

"The secret to cooking dwarf is…" Bilbo racked his brain for anything. He honestly hadn't expected to get this far.

"Well go on, tell us the secret!"

"Yes, I am telling you the secret!" Bilbo growled in frustration. "The secret to cooking dwarf is um—skin them first!" He smiled a little out of pure relief when the trolls believed him. The relief quickly washed away as the dwarves began shouting their disagreements and calling Bilbo a traitor.

"What a load of rubbish!" Said one of the trolls. "I've eaten plenty with their skins on. Scuff them, I say, boots and all." He promptly yanked Bombur from the ground, ready to eat him whole.

* * *

"Fili, we've been wandering aimlessly for hours. Where are we going?" Nina breathed, stumbling to catch her breath. Fili finally stopped their constant jog, realizing that he had far better stamina than his partner.

"Wherever the others are," He snapped. Nina slowly and unnoticeably took her arm out of his grasp.

"Well excuse me, but this whole world is new to me and I'm sorry if I don't know where we're going!" She snapped back, challenging Fili's own harsh tone. He softened his gaze on her, noticing with some interest how her eyes flicked over his face as if she could see him, though he knew she couldn't because of the tell-tale film covering her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I'm just trying to figure out where we are." He reasoned softly. Nina nodded, her chest still heaving from the exercise.

"Well it seems you won't have to," A familiar old voice sounded from behind them.

"Gandalf!" Nina gasped. She didn't need Fili to tell her who it was at this point.

"How did you find us?" Fili chuckled out of utter relief, moving up to grasp Nina's wrist again so she wouldn't fall.

"It wasn't hard, considering I had followed you since escaped."

"Then why didn't you help us sooner?" Nina growled irritably.

"I wanted to see how far you would come, and it was quite far mind you. You have almost made it to the others, but I fear that they are in danger. Come quickly." Gandalf explained. Nina inwardly groaned at the mention of the word 'quickly' and trudged—well, quickly—along side Fili.

"The orcs will be searching for us I'm sure," Fili whispered to Nina. "You need to have your hearing and smell on the alert now until we're sure there's no threat." Nina nodded, understanding that her lack of sight was becoming a fatal threat to her.

* * *

"No not that one!" Bilbo screamed in a panic. The troll froze, Bombur hanging just above his mouth. "He's got worms…in his…tubes." He shrugged, supposing that it was a better excuse than none at all. The dwarf was thrown back into the pile of sacked dwarves, and Bilbo took his chance. "In fact they all have, they're infested with parasites! It's a terrible business, I wouldn't risk it."

"Parasites, did he say?" "We don't have parasites! You have parasites!" "What are you talking about, laddie?" Bilbo rolled his eyes as the dwarves reacted daftly. Thorin was the first to catch on, causing him to promptly kick Kili in the side.

"Mine are the biggest parasites, I've got huge parasites!" He announced as he caught on.

"I've got parasites as big as my arm!"

"We're riddled, yes, _riddled_ with parasites!"

"And what would you have us do? Let them all go?" A troll growled, silencing the dwarves.

"Well…"

"You think I don't know what you're up to? This little ferret is taking us for fools!" The troll roared. Bilbo stumbled back to the relative safety of the dwarves in sacks.

"The dawn will take you all!" Gandalf's booming voice silenced everyone. Bilbo looked up to see the gray-clad figure plunge his staff into the stone on which he stood and break it, causing light to flood in and blind them all.

"It burns!" The trolls screeched and shrieked as the light turned them to stone. Bilbo gasped incredulously as the trolls turned to mere statues around a spit.

"Get us down from here!" Dwalin roared from said spit.

"It is quite safe now, you can come out." Gandalf called to the trees around them as the dwarves clothed themselves and helped down the ones on the spit. Bilbo looked around frowning, wondering who Gandalf was speaking to when they came out.

"It's about time," Nina grunted as she peeled her way through the brush behind Fili. Both of them looked horrible, cut and bruised and Fili limping slightly as he held Nina's hand as support.

"Fili!" Thorin cried in surprised relief as he rushed over to embrace his nephew. Fili was forced through the embrace to release Nina, who in turn smiled when a gruff voice approached her.

"We were worried about you two, are you alright lass?" Dwalin grunted, reluctant to show his worry. Nina smiled widely in his direction before welcoming his helping arm.

"I'm fine," She sighed, turning more serious. "But I need to speak with you later."

"Of course." Dwalin nodded, wondering what it was she needed.

By now the dwarves had crowded around the two returned members, mostly around Fili. She was grateful when she was allowed to wander off a few steps to regain her bearings—she had just endured torture after all.

"So, the biggest parasites, huh?" She smirked when she sensed a familiar person a little ways in front of her. She could tell Kili hadn't noticed her stumbling upon him, considering his surprised jump could be heard from a mile away.

"How long were you listening to that?" He grumbled. Nina couldn't suppress her grin.

"Long enough, trust me."

"I can honestly say I'm quite glad at the moment that you're blind." Kili replied bluntly. Nina frowned in his direction.

"That wasn't necessary."

"I don't have clothes on."

"Ok now you're not the only one glad I'm blind." Nina grimaced, trying to dismiss the image of a naked dwarf before it could come. "Well put some on, for God's sake!"

"I am, at least I was until you came over here."

"I wanted to have a moment to myself," Nina sighed, sitting herself down onto a rock carefully. She sensed Kili sit beside her, fully clothed of course.

"Are you alright?" He asked. Nina noticed that his tone was gentle, much like it had been when he had given her his cloak the other night—it seemed ages ago.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just got tortured for a little bit, you know, no big deal." Nina sighed, shrugging her shoulders sarcastically. Kili put a hand on her shoulder.

"You were warned that this quest would be dangerous, I hope you're not planning on blaming any of us for this."

"Of course not, it was out of anyone's control. I just…I want to go home." Nina felt a wave of nausea wash over her as her voice faltered and tears swelled up in her eyes. "I didn't sign up for this, any of it. I didn't want to come here, and I didn't want to be on this stupid quest!" She found herself shouting and sobbing at the same time, so angry and unable to filter her words as Kili listened.

"I just wanted to be an artist, someone who could inspire people like me that art is possible without sight! I wanted to be with my family, maybe even have a boyfriend someday but probably not; I wanted to finish school and be a normal person, I didn't want this!" She broke down, sobbing as Kili sat stiffly beside her. This wasn't a stupid quest, this was his home whether she cared about it or not.

"Well then I wonder why it was you came on this _stupid quest _in the first place." He growled, sliding off the rock and leaving her alone before she could apologize for her words.

"Why is this happening?" She whispered helplessly to no one, not letting herself worry about Kili's feelings. He was a fictional character after all, and she knew this quest wasn't going to benefit him either in the long run. He was going to die.

Then it hit her.

Kili, Fili and Thorin were going to die. Nina gasped, realizing that the three of them, however fictional they were, were good people. Fili had sacrificed himself for her and taken beatings for her and saved her; Kili had been a good half-friend to her and had made her forget about her troubles and cheer her up; Thorin—however insufferable she found him—was a good leader. He thought about the safety of his men as she was discovering, and he didn't deserve to die at all. She started to feel sick. She needed to get out of Middle Earth.

* * *

"Where did you go to, if I may ask?" Thorin strode over to where Gandalf was examining his troll statues.

"To look ahead."

"What brought you back?" Thorin frowned.

"Looking behind," Gandalf turned to smirk down at the dwarf. "Nasty business. Still, you are all in one piece, and Nina and Fili are safe."

"How did you manage to find them?"

"I am a wizard, Thorin, give me a bit of credit for that." Gandalf huffed lightly. Thorin looked over to see the young blind girl sitting with his nephew Kili, and frowned. She was becoming a burden and it was not at all safe for her to be with them.

"What are you planning to do with the girl?" Thorin found himself asking.

"I am not entirely sure if my plan will work, but even so it does not concern you. She needs to travel with us only a little while longer." Gandalf nodded, as if making up his mind right then. Thorin rolled his eyes at the wizard, deciding to change the subject.

"Since when do mountain troll venture this far south?" He thought aloud.

"Oh, not for an age, not since a darker power ruled these lands." Gandalf replied too casually. "They could not have moved in daylight."

"There must be a cave nearby," Thorin concluded eagerly. "Come, all of you, we must look for the cave!" He called to the others. He was glad that they had a few moments at least to welcome back Fili and, even Nina. He did not exactly like her, but he did not wish her any harm.

* * *

"What is it you needed to speak with me about?" Dwalin asked, approaching Nina. She sat on a rock away from the campfire they had built just outside of the troll cave, considering no one wanted to sleep with that stench. She kept her gaze down even as she tentatively shifted herself to allow him some sitting room beside her.

"I started thinking, after Fili and I escaped the Orcs." Nina sighed tiredly. "Dwalin I'm helpless. Fili only got captured and hurt because he was defending me, and I can't seem to defend myself. I need to learn at least some skills with any kind of weapon." She gulped nervously, unsure of how Dwalin would react. "As long as I'm in Middle Earth I need some way to protect myself so no one has to get hurt for me again. I don't like being helpless," She trailed off, deciding she had rambled long enough.

"I understand what you're saying, Lady Nina." Dwalin finally replied. "How do you expect to learn out here though?"

"You could teach me things," Nina answered like an eager young child. "It makes sense. You're the only one here that I'm really comfortable with, why wouldn't I learn better from you?"

"I suppose," He grunted, shifting uncomfortably after her compliment. "But it won't be easy, and I won't go easy on you if you truly want to learn." He warned gently. Nina nodded.

"I'd rather get yelled at by you than killed by something out here," She chuckled mirthlessly. Dwalin let go a small, barely audible chuckle in return before sighing and getting up.

"We can start tomorrow night if you'd like." Dwalin offered as he stretched out his back.

"Sure."

"Don't you want to get some food, lass?" He frowned. She had discovered that dwarves coveted food.

"It's okay, I'm not that hungry." She wrapped her arms around her stomach to hide the growling. Dwalin nodded, said his good-nights and returned to the others by the fire. Nina sighed.

She couldn't go to that fire with all of the dwarves, hungry or not. She had tried her best not to care but she felt quite guilty about hurting Kili's feelings earlier, and she knew for a fact that he hadn't forgotten it. When they retrieved the ponies, thanks to Bilbo, Kili offered (not unkindly) for Nina to ride with Fili. She wouldn't have cared at all had the circumstances been different, had he not been angry with her. She knew he was at that fire now, she could hear his indistinguishable voice. No, she would sleep hungry that night as she racked her brain for ways to get out of Middle Earth once and for all. Gandalf wasn't moving fast enough for her.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**Sooo I missed Friday because I got my foot all injured and almost had to go to Urgent Care, Saturday I was babysitting, and so today I am unable to walk for long periods of time and am bedridden. So I decided to finish this chapter, and I'm 100% good with this chapter but hey we can't always avoid the fillers... also I feel like this chapter was necessary for us to see how Nina is dealing with everything that's happening to her. Anywho leave a review letting me know what you guys thought of this week's chapter and I shall go watch BOFA and cry my eyes out...**

**Thanks to the reviews from...**

**Mystic Myra 8: Thanks a lot, I am slowly but surely getting through stuff :) **

**Katara: Thanks! I super glad the different-ness (is that a word?) isn't bad, glad you like it and there will be more of it**

**Lerieon: Thanks, glad you like my story! **


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"_Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak."—_Thomas Carlyle

* * *

"To your left, Nina!" Dwalin growled as he thrust his sword again. Nina desperately swung to block the blow.

"Sorry, it's hard when I can't see what you're doing." She snapped back as she recklessly swung back at him. Dwalin caught her sword with his own and swirled it around to send it sprawling to the grassy ground.

"Your enemy will not care about that. They will use it against you, and that will be your downfall." Dwalin heaved for air, wiping the sweat from his brow. "It's hot and you've been training all afternoon, give it a rest now." He concluded, handing Nina her sword. They had found one in the troll-cave that was small enough for her, and one for Bilbo.

"Please Dwalin, I haven't made any progress, just a few more rounds?" She begged like a little child. "I'm just as bad a fighter as I was when we started."

"It wouldn't do you any good to overwork yourself lass, and I have first watch tonight. I can't be so tired that I sleep on the job." Dwalin reasoned. Nina pouted, trying not to let Dwalin see her disappointment.

"I'll fight her a round if she wishes, Dwalin." A gruff sounding Kili approached them. Nina sighed, Kili hadn't interacted with her all morning, and she was relieved to see him volunteering to do something with her. Maybe, just maybe, he had forgiven her?

"Suit yourself, but don't let her keep you out here all night, she'll need a rest." Dwalin replied authoritatively. He left them to their training soon after, and Nina decided to take her opportunity.

"Look Kili, about yesterday—"

_Smack! _A sword came down and nearly crippled Nina's arm as she blocked it just in time and glared in Kili's direction menacingly.

"What was that?! I wasn't ready!"

"That's your problem," Kili said evenly, showing no hint that the blow affected him in any way. "You're never ready. You can't always relax because one of us is around, you always have to be alert, waiting for danger."

"So I should expect any of you to just randomly attack me?" Nina snapped back. All thoughts of an apology to him were out the window now.

"You should expect us to fail, all of the time. Never let yourself get comfortable in relying on us to be perfect, expect us to make mistakes when danger comes. That's how you get an advantage over your enemy." Kili explained. Nina knew that it made sense, not letting herself get too reliant on the dwarves, but she couldn't quench the white-hot anger she was feeling toward him for his actions.

"And are you planning on teaching me how to fight my enemy when you fail?" She retorted, raising her sword slowly.

"I suppose I am."

He swung again, this time an overhand blow that Nina just barely blocked. She was relying on the sound of the blade swinging in the air, then she would judge where it was and block. She still couldn't resist his strong force in each blow he delivered, nearly numbing her arms with his force. Dwalin's force would have been detrimental surely, but thankfully he held back some force.

"Your best chance at survival in a fight is defense, letting the opponent wear himself out first." Kili grunted as he rained down more blows for Nina to block.

"But how would that work considering my arms are going numb from this?" She growled irritably.

"You need to learn to let your sword absorb my power, I'm guessing Dwalin decided not to burden you with that today. He will teach it to you another day." Kili breathed as he finally relented and let his sword point touch the ground. A cool breeze blew through the clearing, and Nina closed her eyes serenely and smiled gently into the wind, grateful for anything to break the stagnant heat.

"I guess he will," She murmured, raising her sword once more. "One more round?"

"I suppose." He shrugged, his voice noticeably losing its edge.

"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings yesterday Kili." Nina mumbled before they began their match.

Kili had her hopping all around the clearing to match his speed and agility, and she was surprised that dwarves (who were described to her as burly) could be so agile. She managed to block most of the blows, though she still found herself being paralyzed by each.

"Dead." Kili stated bluntly as he set the tip of his blade on her neck as she lay flat on her back glaring in his direction pointedly.

"Fine, be that way." She mumbled childishly as he continued ignoring her earlier statement. She accepted his hand when he offered it and he pulled her to her feet, letting her place her sword back into its scabbard.

"I understand that you've been through a lot lately." Kili acknowledged as she started to leave the clearing. "This whole quest is new to you." He called as she turned around to face him.

"Yeah, so I'm sorry I exploded on you."

"We both were in the wrong," He argued. "I wasn't as considerate as I should have been, and you…exploded," He hesitated, obviously having not used the word explode like that.

"Yeah, so we're good?" Nina laughed at his reaction to their different speaking. Kili chuckled back, albeit hesitantly, and started back to the others with her.

"You're not as bad as you think at fighting, you know." He grinned, his signature mischievous voice returning almost instantly.

"Really?" Nina looked up in his direction hopefully.

"Oh sure," He nodded vehemently. "You can last about two seconds if you try."

"I hate you!" Nina laughed as she shoved his shoulder playfully. "I should've seen that coming, though, right?" Before Kili had a chance to reply, they reached the others.

"Something's coming!" Thorin bellowed to them. All the dwarves instinctively brandished their weapons, including Kili who nocked an arrow to his bow. Nina slowly slid her sword from its scabbard and gulped nervously.

"Stay together! Arm yourselves, hurry now!" Gandalf ordered with Thorin. The dwarves did as he said, Nina following the sound of their commotion hurried to where they were gathering, having lost Kili in the crowd of dwarves.

"Thieves! Fire! Murder!" A new voice screeched from a sled. A sled? Nina shook her head to clear the crazy notion, but she knew the sound was definitely a sled. And it smelled like…rabbits?

"Radagast the Brown, what on earth are you doing here?" Gandalf approached the man calmly.

"I was looking for you, Gandalf. Something's wrong, something's terribly wrong." The man rambled. Nina felt the dwarves relax only a fraction around her.

"-stick insect!" Nina heard Radagast shout after speaking to Gandalf hurriedly and quietly.

"Let us go and speak in private for a moment," Gandalf mumbled quietly to Radagast, leading him away a few paces. Nina followed their sounds, not letting Gandalf know she was there as she listened.

"The Greenwood is sick, Gandalf. A darkness has fallen over it. Nothing grows anymore, at least nothing good. The air is foul with decay. But worst are the webs." Radagast explained uneasily. Nina racked her brain for any memories of this in the book, and only found that she remembered a chapter title: Flies and Spiders. What did that mean?

"Webs?"

"Spiders, Gandalf. Giant ones. Some kind of spawn of Ungoliant, or I am not a wizard. I followed their trail, and they came from Dol Guldur." Radagast explained. Gandalf sighed heavily.

"But the old fortress is abandoned."

"No, Gandalf, it is not."

Nina moved away from them then, trying to concentrate on what happened during the chapter Flies and Spiders.

"Flies and Spiders…" She thought aloud to herself. She decided not to concentrate too much on it right then, and moved closer to the group again as the two wizards returned.

Then the howling started, and it was all too familiar to Fili and Nina.

"Was that a wolf? Are there wolves out there?" Bilbo cried in a panic.

"Wolves? No, that is not a wolf." Bofur gulped nervously.

"Oh dear god no," Nina gasped.

She felt an arrow whiz past her face as it sunk its shaft into the Warg's skull, Thorin moving quickly to finish it off.

"Warg-Scouts!" Thorin roared. "Which mean an Orc pack is not far behind."

"Orc pack?" Bilbo squeaked.

"Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?" Gandalf suddenly roared at Thorin.

"No one," Thorin answered, a bit puzzled.

"Who did you tell?!"

"No one, I swear. What in Durin's name is going on?"

"You are being hunted." Gandalf whispered in horror.

"We have to get out of here!" Nina heard Dwalin bellow from somewhere ahead of her. She gulped as the dwarves all agreed, Radagast agreeing to distract the Orcs. The dwarves moved so fast she couldn't catch their voices anymore, and she started to panic as she felt herself being left behind.

She stumbled forward, forcing herself to try to follow the blind trail. She fell over a root, and pushed herself back up quickly. She couldn't hear any sound of the dwarves now. She almost broke down in tears out of the sheer panic of being left behind in this place with an Orc pack closing in. In a last attempt to get herself to safety, Nina thrust out her hand and outstretched her fingers. She reached and reached, chest heaving from the stress.

She nearly screamed when a hand grabbed her own and lurched her forward into a full sprint. She ran as fast as her short legs would take her as the hand dragged her further and further, running from death. She tripped a few times but forced herself to keep running regardless, her path becoming more even once they hit a clearing out of the forest.

"Move, quickly!" She heard Thorin bellow from ahead. Nina almost collapsed in relief at his voice (something she never thought she would never do) but thankfully she kept running, being dragged by the hand.

"Where are you taking us?" She heard him growl to someone, presumably Gandalf. There was no response, and they kept running further. Soon they halted abruptly and Nina leaned against a rock outcropping, letting herself catch her breath while trying to be silent.

Thorin nodded to Kili and no words were needed. Kili looked over at Nina hesitantly, noticing how her hand was clinging to his own for dear life. He sighed, looked at her pitifully, and decided he didn't have enough time to calm her.

"I'll come back."

Those were the only words Nina could hear whispered in her ear, and then the hand slipped away. She panicked internally for a moment before she reminded herself that she was with the dwarves now, not lost, and in that she found a little security. She heard Kili nock an arrow slowly beside her, spun around, and shot. An Orc from farther away shouted angrily, and Dwalin finished off Kili's Warg.

"Move. Run!" Gandalf cried and soon they were on the move again, this time even faster and more urgently. Nina thrust her hand out again, and this time she wasn't startled when Kili's hand grasped her own.

They ran fast and steady, and she could hear Kili breathing heavily in front of her.

"There's more coming!" He warned them all. The dwarves had stopped.

"What's happening?" Nina breathed in a frenzy as Kili kept dragging her around.

"We're surrounded," He mumbled so only she could hear. It was as if Fili had read his mind.

"We're surrounded!" Fili screamed, brandishing his sword.

"Stay behind me." Kili swung his arm behind his back in order to force Nina behind him, letting her hold onto his blue cloak as he shot the Orcs.

"Kili! Shoot them!" Thorin ordered urgently.

"Where is Gandalf?" Nina screamed to anyone over the commotion.

"He's abandoned us!" Dwalin answered her in a voice full of shock and betrayal.

"Hold your ground!" Thorin reigned in the attention of the dwarves.

"This way, you fools!" Gandalf said as he popped up out of the rock. Nina swiveled her head toward his voice to hear Thorin ordering the dwarves in.

"Kili, come on." She pulled on his arm as he shot another arrow.

"Go, follow their voices, jump into the rock, I have just a few more." Kili pushed her away, Nina resisting a little.

"You'll be killed, Kili come on." She reasoned. Kili shoved her further.

"I'm right behind you, go!"

Nina sprinted for the crack and jumped in (with the guiding of Thorin to help her).

"Where's Kili?" Fili strode up to her once Nina had gained her balance again in the cave. She looked around even though she knew it was pointless.

"He said he was right behind me, he said he was!"

"KILI!" They heard Thorin's voice from above. Everyone's heart raced as they registered the immense amount of anguish in Thorin's voice as he cried the name. All kept their faces upturned, listening as the battle raged outside and above.

"Grab him, lads!" Balin cried as the body of Kili slumped and slid down the cave entrance with Thorin just behind him.

"What's happening?" Nina gasped through the panic. Bombur pulled her away from the screaming body of Kili. "Kili!" She shouted in a panic of her own.

"Easy lass, he'll be alright, lass, it will be alright…" Bombur tried in vain to soothe her.

"What's happening?" She gasped again, becoming irritated that no one would tell her. The dwarves scrambled to rush around Kili's writhing and screaming body, especially Fili who stayed by his side the whole time.

"Kili's been shot," Balin mercifully answered her. "It doesn't look very good…"

"Where?" Nina gulped. She had never had someone she knew die, and she wasn't about to start. She hadn't remembered her mother when she died, so she feared now that grief was something she might not be able to handle.

"In his ribs, I fear." Balin replied sullenly. Nina nearly broke down in tears then as she heard the intense screams of Kili.

"It's alright, brother, just stay with me!" Fili begged from his side.

Just then, a piercingly loud horn entered the already hectic situation. The company all took a collective step back as they helplessly listened to the battle above.

"Elves." Thorin spat as a dead Orc rolled down into the cave. Dwalin ventured further into the cave, only to call back as he found a trail.

"I cannot see where the pathway leads. Do we follow it or no?" He called. Everyone looked in his direction.

"Follow it, of course!" Bofur replied, being the first of the dwarves to move and follow Dwalin further down the path.

"I think that would be wise," Gandalf muttered under his breath, ignoring the suspicious look Thorin shot at him before turning his attention to his nephew.

Fili, Dwalin, and Nori hoisted up Kili's near lifeless body and carried him through the narrow pathway after the others. Nina tried her best not to look back at him as they went, and her heart nearly stopped as he got quieter and quieter. The narrow path opened up into a larger rock area that overlooked a beautiful valley filled with buildings forming a city. Nina assumed it was beautiful based on the wistful tone Gandalf took on.

"The Valley of Imladris. In the common tongue, it's known by another name."

"Rivendell." Bilbo breathed in wonder, causing a small, tight smile to cross Nina's features. She stepped carefully, grateful when Bilbo took her arm and led her to the bridge that would take them to the city.

"Thank you," She smiled in his direction, realizing that she hadn't spoken with Bilbo all that much during their journey.

"Think nothing of it." Bilbo answered as cheerily as he could muster. She had always liked the character of Bilbo how she hated the book the Hobbit, she thought he was actually practical out of any of the other characters in the story.

"This was your plan all along, to seek refuge with our enemy." Thorin growled as he moved from Kili's side to yell at Gandalf.

"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield." Gandalf sighed, as if he had expected this conversation. "The only ill-will to be found in this place is that which you bring yourself."

"You think the elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us!" Thorin argued fervently.

"Of course they will! But we have questions that need to be answered." Gandalf countered.

"And the girl?" Thorin sighed dejectedly.

"The elves here may be able to take care of her," Gandalf explained. "But it will need to be handled with tact and respect, and no small degree of charm. That is why you will leave the talking to me." Gandalf grinned as Thorin shot him a look, returning to help the others carry Kili into the city of Rivendell.

"Dwarves don't like elves, do they?" Nina peeped as she sensed Gandalf walking beside her and Bilbo.

"No, I am afraid they are not." Gandalf grumbled, still disappointed from the whole ordeal with Thorin. "Both elves and dwarves act like children at times; it seems that nothing will break their grudges." Nina nodded in understanding as she remembered the history of dwarves and elves from the book. She remembered few things from it, and she still found herself troubled by that chapter title—Flies and Spiders.

When they finally reached the entrance to the grand city, a dark-haired rather handsome elf glided down the steps to greet the battered company. His warm and welcoming smile immediately twisted into a worried frown.

"We shall heal your companion if you wish it," He spoke softly, melodically. Nina was startled by the lack of rough…dwarfness.

"Don't—" Thorin stepped forward to give a threat when Gandalf cut him off with a simple thank you, and the elves snatched up Kili and took him away before anyone else could protest.

"Thank you Lindir," Gandalf addressed the elf. Lindir gave the wizard a short nod and distracted smile as his gaze set on Nina.

"What causes such a young lady to be travelling with a company of dwarves?" He looked her up and down, noticing her long golden hair and her freckles, and her bright blue eyes.

"I um…" She stammered, unsure whether she was supposed to tell the truth to the elves or not.

"She's my sister." Fili blurted, stepping slightly in front of the blind girl. Lindir didn't argue, considering they both shared the hair and eyes—however Nina's features were brighter than Fili's. The dwarves shot confused looks at the two before they shrugged and went along, Thorin nodding shortly to Fili in gratitude for rescuing the situation.

"Very well," Lindir cocked an eyebrow at the two.

"I must speak with Lord Elrond." Gandalf quickly turned Lindir's attention back to himself.

"My lord Elrond is not here."

"Not here? Where is he?"

Before Gandalf had the chance to be answered, the loud horns blew again and a large party of horsemen galloped through the gate and circled the dwarves.

"Ifridî bekâr!" Thorin ordered in the dwarvish tongue as the dwarves tightened together, shoving Bilbo and Nina in the center.

"Gandalf!" Called a new voice, strong and confident. He was the lord of the city, and a handsome elf indeed. He had long brown hair, and his armor was tainted purple to show his rank as he dismounted gracefully from his horse.

"Lord Elrond, mellonnen! Mo evínedh?" Gandalf spoke in the elvish tongue.

"Real live elves of Rivendell, I cannot believe it!" Bilbo whispered excitedly to Nina, who smiled back at him before returning her attention to the conversation between the elf and wizard.

"Farannem 'lamhoth i udul o charad. Dagannem rim na lant Vedui." Elrond answered. No one in the company knew what was being said, and it seemed only to anger the dwarves further. "Strange for Orcs to come so close to our borders. Something, or someone, has driven them near." Elrond mercifully spoke in English, and Nina was able to hear the accusation in his tone.

"Ah, that may have been us." Gandalf admitted sheepishly.

"Gandalf," Thorin growled, stepping forward from the circle. Elrond smiled majestically at the dwarf.

"Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain."

"I do not believe we have met." Thorin snapped, ignoring the greeting.

"You have your grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled under the Mountain." Elrond regarded Thorin warmly.

"Indeed; he made no mention of you." He spat. Nina resisted the urge to shout 'OOO BURN' and kept her head down to hide the grin.

"Nartho i noer, toltho i viruvor. Boe i annam vann a nethail vin." Elrond spoke to the dwarves. They gripped their weapons uneasily as Gloin spoke threateningly.

"What is he saying? Does he offer us insult?"

"No, master Gloin, he's offering you food." Gandalf translated exasperatedly. Nina's heart leaped for joy at the sound of good food, which she had a feeling they had here.

"Ah well, in that case, lead on." Gloin confirmed after a comical huddle with the others.

* * *

"How is he?" Nina asked up at the elf maid.

"He has little hope left, I am afraid. We have tried everything, the wound has become too deep and severe for our healings." The maid replied soberly as Nina's face fell. Kili wasn't allowed to die. She knew he would die eventually, and she very much hoped to back home before it happened. "Shall I tell the dwarves?" She prompted when Nina said nothing.

"No, not yet. Can I see him before you tell them? It will be too hectic once they know." Nina croaked, trying not to break down in tears for the millionth time since she had gotten in this Middle Earth mess.

"Of course, my lady." The maid bowed slightly and Nina listened until her footsteps faded to nothing before she carefully felt her way into the room where Kili would be. She tripped and slammed her hip into the side of his bed.

"Ow, what the—uggghhh!" She grumbled to herself as she ungracefully hobbled to his bedside to find a chair. She found nothing, and growled again. "Does this place have a thing against chairs?"

"The side of this bed is pretty empty at the moment," A weak Kili croaked. Nina squealed and jumped, looking in the direction of the bed.

"Kili," She breathed, sitting carefully on the side of the bed. She could feel his body laying limp beside her as she reached her fingers out slowly. His overly warm hand gently brushed against her fingers. She sniffled a little bit and got irrationally mad at herself when a tear fell from her eye. She wiped it away aggressively, hoping Kili wouldn't notice.

"Don't start crying on me now," Kili groaned as he tried to move.

"No, please just stay still." Nina sniffed as he grasped her hand a little harder from his effort to move. "And I'm not crying," She protested once he was settled back on his bed. "I…I have allergies."

"What?" He frowned in confusion. Nina shook her head, knowing he would see the gesture.

"Nothing," She sighed. "Please don't die." Then she quickly covered her mouth and her cheeks went red with embarrassment. Who says that to people? Kili laughed at her before the laughs turned into small coughs as his face contorted in pain.

"I'll try my best," He chuckled when his coughs had subsided. "Why are you the only here?" He asked once it had occurred to him that they were alone. Nina's face darkened and she looked away from his direction, remembering what the elf maid had said about his odds of living.

"Nina?" He repeated softly, his frown deepening with concern.

"I…I…" She stammered, trying not to let herself cry. "The elf, she said you might not live."

"I know. She told me that I will not live," Kili replied. Nina felt a wave of tears coming on. She hadn't known Kili all that long, but he had been a good friend to her and had saved her life, she didn't want him to die. She didn't want anyone to die.

"You will live, right? I didn't get dumped into this mess just to have one of my friends die." Nina pleaded like a child. Kili smiled at her.

"We're friends then?"

"Yup, until I get home." Nina replied. Kili shook his head at her before his face contorted in pain again. "Are you okay?" Kili hissed in pain and slowly his eyelids fluttered until his eyes were half-closed.

"Kili!" She reached for him as his hand slipped from hers'. "Kili!" He hissed through his teeth as the pain got worse.

Then all went still.

"Kili!" She reached with her hands until they were resting on his shoulders and she shook him a little, willing him to wake up.

She ran her hand down his motionless body until she reached just below his chest where the wound was. She gasped when her hand felt the scratches and small, bloody hole where the arrow had shot him.

Kili stirred, feeling a sharp pain in his abdomen where feather-light fingers were brushing across it. He felt himself drifting, a deep sleep threatening to pull him in. His eyes were slits as he looked at the girl before him. Friends. She had called him her friend, and a small smile played on his pale lips. She was a strange but quite funny girl, Nina, and he decided it would be nice to be her friend. He winced as she kept her fingers on his wound, her face twisted in worry and confusion. He pitied her. She couldn't see, for all she knew he could be dead. He wanted to say something, tell her to get Fili or someone to help, to tell her that he wasn't dead yet, but the words wouldn't form and his voice wouldn't sound.

Everything suddenly got warm. It was warm, and then it was hot. A bright white light flew across the room like lightning, coming from Nina's hand. Nina's hand? Why was there hot white lightning coming from her hand. She looked so startled, but not in pain. Kili shot upright in his bed and looked at her with wide eyes. She slowly set her fingers back on the wound. There wasn't anything there but his normal, unscarred skin.

"What was that?" She gasped in a frenzy. "What did I just do?"

"You healed me." Kili croaked, unable to take his eyes off of her hand as she brought it back to her own body and cradled it as if it had been burned. Maybe it had.

"What is wrong with me?" Nina whispered. Her chest heaved as she relived the feeling over and over. One thing was for sure in her mind.

Something happened to her when she came to Middle Earth.

* * *

**Author's Note: ****Translations for the Khuzdul and Elvish are below!**

**Okie dokie well, that's quite the news. Nina healed Kili with something from her hand...huh. By the way I really didn't want Kili to be injured AGAIN since he gets shot in DOS, but it will really make something that's happening next chapter to be possible so it was necessary...Anyway, thanks for those who have stuck with me and it feels like this chapter is longer than most but I don't really know I guess you guys can decide that. Thanks to the new followers/favoriters and please don't forget to review! Next chapter we'll have some more training for Nina, some more Thorin, some more Fili, and some explanations as to what is going on with Nina. **

**Translations: **

**Ifridî bekâr (Khuzdul)-ready weapons**

** mellonnen! Mo evínedh? (Sindarin)-My friend! Where have you been? **

**Farannem 'lamhoth i udul o charad. Dagannem rim na lant Vedui (Sindarin)-We've been hunting a pack of Orcs that came up from the south. We slew a number near the Hidden Pass. **


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"_If there is no struggle, there is no progress." –Frederick Douglass _

* * *

"Gandalf, I need to speak with you." Nina rushed across the wide corridor, interrupting the dwarves' dinner with Kili trailing behind her.

"Nina, it's alright, you don't have to—"

"Kili. You didn't just magically heal a person!" She whipped around on him. "I'm not saying I'm not happy you're alive and well, I'm just more than a little freaked out about how it happened." She heard Kili sigh, and she could tell he was a little freaked out himself from the events.

"What is it, my dear?" Gandalf hobbled over to the two with his staff. Nina turned around to face him.

"I _need _to talk to you about something." Nina gave him what she imagined to be a meaningful look. She obviously didn't see Kili's annoyed glare from behind her. He didn't understand why she was excluding him from this, after all he had been there when it happened.

"I do believe I can have an idea of what it might be," Gandalf sighed tiredly, glancing behind her at a miraculously healed Kili. "And I do know that there is someone else you should speak with regarding this…situation."

"Who?" Nina replied exasperatedly.

"Come with me."

* * *

"Mithrandir, it has been a long time." The voice was smooth, melodically even to the point where it was calming. Nina could not have known how beautiful the woman looked, with her long golden hair and elven gown. The moon shone behind her, accentuating her shimmering blue eyes. But Gandalf could see her beauty.

"_Nae nin gwistant infanneth, mal ú-eichia i Chíril Lorien _(Age may have changed me, but not so the Lady of Lorien)." Gandalf bowed admiringly at the ageless beauty. The woman smiled sweetly at the older wizard.

"And who is your friend, Mithrandir?" She inquired, the calming voice putting Nina into a trance. Gandalf set a comforting hand on Nina's shoulder and guided her out so that the woman could see Nina. Neither guests noticed the woman's face go even paler than its original color when she saw the girl.

"This is Nina, a traveler in the company of Thorin Oakenshield, and she has a rather pressing matter to speak with you about." Nina smiled slightly at the title Gandalf gave her, but it quickly faded as she reminded herself of what she was there to speak about.

"I see," The woman gulped, her voice no longer as smooth. "Leave us." She nodded gently in Gandalf's direction. He nodded with an unreadable gaze.

"Nina, this is Galadriel, the Lady of Lorien." Gandalf introduced the woman. Nina nodded. "She will listen to you." Nina squeezed his hand before he left the pavilion.

"How did you come to this place?" Galadriel questioned coldly before Nina could speak. Nina was a little surprised at the sudden harsh tone.

"I came with the dwarves," Nina replied, unable to keep the edge out of her voice. "Something happened to me and Gandalf said that you could help me."

"How did you come to Middle Earth?" Galadriel snapped incredulously.

"I don't know," Nina's voice cracked. "I was in Virginia with my family and there was a hurricane while I was out…and I just…a tree fell on me…." Nina shook her head, tearing up at the little pieces she could still remember.

"I am very sorry this happened to you, Nina." Galadriel peeped, her voice broken and soft.

"But something happened to me, just now actually."

"What was it?"

"My friend, Kili, he was shot in the chest. He was…he was dying," Nina swallowed her tears. "And I touched his wound. There was a lot of heat and Kili said there was a blinding light and he was healed. No scars, just as if nothing had ever happened to him. Last I checked that wasn't normal." Nina crossed her arms over her chest uncomfortably. Galadriel's face could only be described as horrified.

"Then it is so." She whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.

"What is so?" Nina echoed, mimicking the weird way Galadriel spoke.

"A very long time ago—ages ago—I fell in love with a man. There was great love between us, and we were bound together for life." Galadriel began what Nina predicted was going to be a long sob story.

"Soooo you guys got married?" Nina clarified. Galadriel sighed into the moon beyond.

"Yes, we were married." Galadriel continued. "I was given a daughter, and she was one of the most beautiful young women to ever walk the earth. I loved her very much." Galadriel smiled to herself at the memory. "My family had a history of being able to…change."

"Change?" Nina parroted.

"A person is called a changer when they have the power to travel from one world to another. This world, for example, as opposed to the one you come from." Galadriel watched Nina closely. She saw the golden hair and blue eyes, the tanner skin and sharp features. There was no denying. "This world, Middle Earth, was in great danger, and my father had been charged with protecting Middle Earth. When he fulfilled his tasks and sailed to the Undying Lands with the other elves and my mother, a new protector was needed."

"That was you." Nina put the pieces together, a growing fear creeping up inside her as a small idea nagged at her.

"Indeed, the Valar called upon me to enter into Middle Earth and protect it as a High Elf. I refused naturally, as I had a family that I loved in your world. I was the purest of my siblings, and so the Valar saw me as the only worthy protector of Middle Earth at the time. I was punished severely for my uncooperative manner."

"What happened?" Nina croaked.

"I had another daughter, although I was not blessed enough to know her. The Valar brought me to Middle Earth and I had to assume my role as protector of Middle Earth. My punishment for my behavior was that I could change back to my other world. I could never see my family again." She paused, gaining herself again. "Another part to the punishment was that my youngest daughter would be cursed by the Valar in some way."

"Like being ugly?" Nina shrugged, a little confused.

"Like being crippled perhaps, or blind."

Then it sunk in.

"NO!" Nina nearly fell backward onto the stone floor. "My mother's name was Sarah, and she wasn't some sort of elf!"

"Why do you think you were able to get here? How do you think you healed your dwarf friend?" Galadriel reasoned calmly. "You are the next protector to Middle Earth, which means that some sort of darkness is returning." She swept her gaze over her frazzled daughter.

"No, no, no, no!" Nina cried. "What is my father's name?"

"James," Galadriel answered with a sigh. Nina let out a small sob.

"No," She whimpered. "This can't be happening to me."

"Your powers will not stop with the healing, Nina. I realize that this is quite a bit for you to have to understand all at once, but you must know that your dwarf friend was very fortunate. Your powers could have healed him—as they did—or they could have killed him." Nina let out a horrid gasp at the thought of being able to kill someone. "You are capable of healing this world," Galadriel smiled warmly, reaching out to her daughter.

"Or I can bring it to ruin."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**WHOA. SOoo I know it was short but it's late and I've had a really stressful week, next week it'll be longer I promise. So yeah, I didn't stick much to Galadriel's history but hey I think it works. By the way I've been meaning to ask for like 2 weeks but do any of you guys watch Arrow? If so, I'm thinking of writing a fanfic based off the show soo check it out if you're into the show and feel free to PM me and geek out about it anytime :) UUUUUntil next chapter guys, I'm going to maybe sleep now... **

**Thanks to the reviews from Noxy the Proxy and Mystic Myra 8**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"_It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves." _–William Shakespeare

* * *

Nina sat on the ledge of the balcony pretending to look dramatically at the landscape, thinking over what went wrong in her life. Oh right, it was her mom's birth. Nina wondered vaguely what she was supposed to call her mom now, since her name was Galadriel. But Nina's father knew her to be Sara. Which was she supposed to call her? Was she supposed to say 'my lady'?

"You seem troubled." A gruff and familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Yeah, I've had quite the news." Nina smirked mirthlessly. She knew it was Dwalin, and she knew that all of the dwarves had pieced together that she was the daughter of Galadriel, a high elf. What they didn't know about was her powers.

"Shouldn't you be happy that your mother is alive?" Dwalin asked gently as he settled himself next to her.

"I know, I know, but she's been alive all these years, and she said nothing. With all of her powers, she didn't even _try _to contact me in anyway." Nina replied, her voice showing all of the hurt she felt. "And when we do talk, she's telling me things I don't want to hear."

"What did she say?"

"She…As her daughter, I was chosen by the Valar to be the next protector of Middle Earth. I…" Nina shook her head, unable to even comprehend what she was saying.

"You what, Nina? It will not get better until you've told someone." Dwalin grunted.

"I…I have powers, I guess you could call them. I can heal, like I did to Kili. But I can also destroy…I could have killed him, Dwalin." She whispered, horrified. "Galadriel told me that since I am so young and physically vulnerable without sight, my power could fall into the wrong hands—dangerous hands. If I am turned to a servant of evil, there isn't anyone who could protect Middle Earth after Galadriel…whatever elves do."

"Are you hearing yourself?" Dwalin scolded harshly. Nina was surprised by the new tone. "I have not known you long, lass, but I can tell that you have courage beyond what I've seen in some brave warriors. You have no sight, and yet you have continued to try to make something of your life; you have not given up on yourself. I am willing to bet that if you don't want to be controlled, you will fight." Nina smiled, scrubbing the tears from her eyes as they threatened to fall. She leaned forward carefully and it happened.

"This is strange." Dwalin sighed grumpily as Nina leaned in to hug him. She laughed into his smelly shoulder.

"Just let it happen…" Nina murmured with a laugh, trying to let herself forget everything as she hugged Dwalin tighter. "Thank you for helping me through everything, Dwalin. You're not as tough as you think."

"Aye, well, we best get back to the others." Dwalin grunted, and Nina nodded. She knew that he wasn't the type for sentimental things, and she wasn't feeling as worried about seeing the others as she was before. But she was still worried.

* * *

"My lady, Lord Elrond wishes that you sit at his table for the meal." Lindir, the elf from before, addressed Nina. Her tentative smile faded as she heard whispering among the dwarves. They were talking about her and her powers. A surge of pain flooded her heart as she thought of how they must see her. A monster.

"She healed Kili." "But it's not natural, it's witchcraft!" "She must be a strange creature of some sort perhaps…?"

"I'm blind not deaf, guys." She spat in their direction, holding her arm out for Lindir to lead her. It occurred to her briefly that perhaps she should have considered changing into cleaner clothes, however that thought dissipated quickly once she reached Elrond's table.

"Ah, Lady Nina, it is lovely to see you here with us in Rivendell." A foreign voice spoke. Nina frowned slightly, and the man awkwardly cleared his throat gently. "I am Lord Elrond, as you might remember." Nina relaxed a fraction and forced a polite smile.

"Of course, sorry."

"Nina, my dear, why don't you come and sit by me?" The familiar voice of Gandalf spoke out. Nina let out a relieved sigh and let herself be helped to the seat next to Gandalf.

"A word?" Another familiar voice from beside her startled Nina. She knew it was Thorin. She was surprised, considering he hadn't exactly spoken to her directly very often in at any time during the quest so far.

"Um, I am very hungry. After we eat?" Nina replied. It was the truth, and her stomach decided to back her up very loudly. She thought she heard him chuckle ever-so-softly, but decided it was her mind playing tricks.

"Thorin, why don't you let Lord Elrond see the sword you claimed?" Gandalf addressed him from across the table. The reluctant glare from Thorin to Gandalf practically lit up his distaste for elves on a neon sign.

"This is Orcrist, the Goblin Cleaver." Elrond said as Thorin reluctantly handed over the sword. "A famous blade, forged by the High Elves of the West, my kin. May it serve you well."

"Thank you," Thorin murmured with a nod as Elrond handed back the ancient blade. He then took Gandalf's sword from the wizard.

"And this is Glamdring, the Foe-hammer, sword of the King of Gondolin. These swords were made for the goblin wars of the First Age…" Elrond trailed off with a pensive tone.

"How did you come by these?" Elrond frowned. All three company travelers—a wizard, a dwarf king, and a blind girl—squirmed uncomfortably.

"We found them in a troll hoard on the Great East Road, shortly before we were attacked by orcs." Gandalf tried to explain nonchalantly.

"And what were you doing on the Great East Road?" Elrond cocked an eyebrow skeptically. No one answered, but the three still looked quite uncomfortable.

"Nina, a word now?" Thorin quickly changed the subject. Nina nodded, grateful to be out of the awkward situation. Then she realized she was about to enter an even more awkward one.

"As you can imagine, I have heard all about the recent events concerning my nephew—"

"I didn't mean to, I didn't even know I could do that and I would never try to hurt anyone you have to understand I'm really sorry…I just cut you off…." Nina rambled nervously. Thorin sighed heavily.

"Indeed you did," He agreed distantly. "Nevertheless Kili would have died without your…services. That is something I cannot forget."

"Are you banishing me, or whatever it is you guys do here?" Nina peeped, her throat choking up.

"You saved my nephew, Nina. If anything I should be rewarding you." He admitted reluctantly. "That is why I shall give you a small share of the treasures in the mountain when we claim it back."

"You don't honestly think I've been traveling with this company because of the gold?" Nina shook her head pitifully at him. "As weird as it may seem, the dwarves—including you—have been the closest thing to a family I've had since I was brought into this mess. Despite our differences Thorin, I am grateful to you for not leaving me back in the Shire."

"It is not that I do not like you, Nina, but you are a woman, and a very vulnerable one at that. I protested your coming because I knew you would need protecting, and I cannot lose one of my kin because of that. It is an unnecessary risk."

"I can see that now, Kili's injury was my fault." Nina mumbled shamefully.

"No, you were long safe in that cave before he was shot." Thorin shook his head firmly. "Kili made his own choice."

Nina hung her head, knowing that if she wasn't blind, she would not be able to meet his gaze. She heard Thorin sigh heavily and turn to look out at the view of Rivendell. Eventually, though, she couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Is it beautiful?" She asked softly, her voice almost sad. Thorin frowned with a puzzled look at her, and then he understood.

"I would prefer the halls of Erebor, but yes, it is a well-designed city." Thorin answered uncomfortably. Nina chuckled and shook her head.

"You dwarves are so stubborn; you can't even admit when something made by elves is pretty." Thorin sighed again. "I used to try to see, you know. I would squint my eyes so hard that my head would hurt, and then I would cry so hard when the blackness didn't go away. All I wanted was to see…"

"I am sorry," Thorin turned his body to face her, now intrigued by her past.

"Yeah well, it turns out I didn't need sight in order to become what I wanted to be." Nina turned her face toward the view outside, letting the gentle, cool breeze blow on it. "I want to be artist—I draw, I paint, whatever it is I do it. I just have to feel what I'm making. I have to know it; have to feel it. Then I can draw it."

"You have never expressed an interest in art during our quest."

"Would you have noticed if I had?" Nina retorted before she could stop herself. She sighed. "I should not have said that."

"You are right." Thorin nodded. "I have not paid any attention to you, a member of this company." Nina looked up to the sound of his voice in surprise.

"You'll let me stay with you guys?" Nina peeped cautiously. She couldn't see Thorin's faint smile.

"I do believe I owe it to you, if you would want to continue this quest with us. You've earned it." Thorin regarded her carefully, as if making sure his choice was wise.

"Thank you, Thorin, thank you so much." Nina smiled genuinely. She refrained from hugging him, deciding that he didn't seem like a big hugger. "You guys have been so nice to me since I got put here, and I will try to help you reclaim for home as a thank you."

Nina felt that she didn't need to tell Thorin that the reclaiming of Erebor didn't exactly matter to her, but she felt like they deserved to think that she cared. She knew the outcome and she felt that the whole quest was worthless. The three deaths in the company, though, made her stomach churn inside.

"You are sure that you would not wish to stay with your mother? I suppose that the elves are your people now," Thorin suggested, an icy tone in his voice once he mentioned elves. Nina sighed.

"She may be my mother but I do not know her, and I never have. With all her powers she never even tried to get to my family, and that tells me that she didn't truly mind being taken here." Nina replied with a determined voice.

"I see," Thorin commented. "However dwarves view family as a sacred privilege, and I do not advise hating your mother."

"I understand." Nina nodded shortly.

"And now I think it is time that you spoke to my nephew," Thorin extended an arm to help Nina back to the others. "You have avoided the poor lad and he hasn't done anything wrong to you." He argued when he heard her start to protest.

"Ugh fine."

* * *

"Hey." Nina stumbled into her temporary bedroom. "Would you mind helping a poor blind girl?" She grunted in sarcasm as she stumbled around, reaching her hand out. A familiar hand grabbed hers'.

"How did you know I was in here?" Kili asked as he led her to sit on her bed. Nina could hear the dissatisfied frown in his voice.

"As I said before, I'm blind not deaf." She replied, a hint of hurt in her voice from the dwarves earlier.

"I'm sorry they talked about you that way, Nina." Kili murmured softly as he sat next to her and released her hand. She nodded.

"They're right, though. I am a strange, unnatural creature." She spat. Kili jumped to her defense.

"No, they're wrong! They were scared and unsure, they didn't know how to react. You cannot hate yourself because of that," Kili grasped her hand again, this time trying to reassure her.

"I don't know…and how did you react? Tell me the truth Kili, you were freaked out I know it." There was silence. "Kili."

"I have never seen that before, but you saved my life. I know we have not known each other that long but I know you well enough to trust that you wouldn't try to hurt any of us." Kili finally decided to say. Nina sighed with a small smile.

"And is everyone afraid of me now?"

"Not really, now they're just trying to wrap their heads around it. Dwalin told us about your mother." Kili loosened his grip on her hand. Nina chuckled at him.

"And you're totally okay with me having powers?"

"I'm still wrapping my head around it too, but I am grateful, we all are. We wouldn't want you to leave us." Kili smiled. Nina grinned.

"Then I guess I have no choice but to stay with this crazy band of dwarves."

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**SORRY for the late update, but my weekend was reaaally busy so I had to postpone my updating day. But alas, it is up. It wasn't eventful I know, but next chapter hopefully we will be leaving Rivendell and this craziness behind...for now. **


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"_Where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts."— _Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

* * *

"Lady Galadriel," Gandalf smiled, bowing gracefully at the beautiful Elf before him. He had not been able to speak with her after the Lady's encounter with Nina.

"Mithrandir, I had wondered when you would come to me." Galadriel smiled, though it didn't reach her blue eyes.

"Yes well, I had no idea that Lord Elrond had sent for you." Gandalf gestured to the Elf Lord that had brought him here not moments before as Elrond smiled knowingly. Galadriel opened her mouth to speak before a new voice beat her to it.

"He didn't. I did." The unmistakable voice of Saruman the White, most powerful of the wizards, filled the room as he stepped in.

"Saruman."

"You've been busy of late, my friend." Saruman shot a look at Gandalf that unmistakably implied that Saruman knew about the dwarves' quest. Gandalf sighed, knowing that this would be a long council meeting.

* * *

"Um…hey." Nina gave an awkward half-wave to the company of dwarves. She couldn't see it, but all of them smiled at her slightly.

"Hello lass, are you feeling better?" Balin asked kindly. Nina nodded.

"Yeah, I'm starting to get over the initial shock and am now moving into denial mode so…" She twisted her fingers nervously.

"You shouldn't be ashamed; you have a gift that can save many." Fili remarked as he smoked on his pipe. Nina smiled to herself, making a mental note to thank him later.

"You are not unwanted in this company." The overpowering voice of Thorin added. Nina looked in his direction and felt surprised when tears welled up in her eyes.

"That means a whole lot coming from you," She whispered, mostly to herself. She couldn't see Thorin smile at her, albeit very secretively.

"You haven't been a burden to us lass, and I do believe it is safe to say that we consider you _almost_ part of the company." Bofur clapped her on the back joyfully. Nina laughed, sniffing slightly.

"Almost?"

"Aye, we won't let you in _that _easily, lass." He joked. Nina laughed again and felt a familiar presence beside her.

"Don't worry about your mother, lass. She'll learn soon enough that you're not just a girl easily manipulated." Dwalin added gently.

Soon all of the dwarves were around her and offering their own kind words in order to ensure that she stay with them on the journey. Nina almost cried of joy at it all, and wondered why she kept feeling the need to cry. Must be the monthly coming on, she thought wryly.

"So, would you consent to having someone sign a contract for you lass?" Balin finally asked once all the commotion had died down.

"I say…" Nina took a deep breath, a feeling of homesickness creeping in the back of her mind as she said the words she never thought she would: "Let's go to Erebor.

"Then pack your things, all of you. Gandalf will meet us in the mountains, but we must move." Thorin ordered. Everyone immediately started to pack their things, hurrying along with a newfound urgency.

"Did you have anything in your room?" Kili asked Nina as he gathered his own things. She shook her head, then stopped and nodded.

"I did," She answered, frowning as she tried to figure out how to get back to her room. Kili took her hand and led her up the stairs.

"What is it?"

"My book, my sketch book. I keep my drawings in it. It's one of the only things I put in my pack that Bilbo gave me." Nina replied. When Bilbo had chased after the company back in the Shire, he had been clumsy enough to bring one too many bags, and had given it to Nina. She kept only the sketch book, pencil, and a small knife Dwalin had insisted she carry with her.

"Good thing those elves didn't stick you in one of their fancy dresses, or we'd be waiting forever for you to get out of it." Kili grunted as he opened the door to let her in the room.

"Yeah, I guess so…" She trailed off, concentrating on where in the room she had left the book.

"Found it," Kili called from across the room, holding her pack with all of its contents in it.

"Thanks," Nina took the pack and slung it over her shoulder as she fastened her sword to her hip in its scabbard. "What?" She frowned when she heard Kili snort.

"That sword is pathetic," He grinned. "Too bad you didn't get an elven one like Bilbo's."

"Well beggars can't be choosers, now can they?" Nina retorted lightly as she left the room, Kili running to catch up to her.

"What does that even mean?" He mumbled to himself.

* * *

"Gone?" Elrond asked incredulously as Lindir, a servant elf, stood before him.

"Yes my lord, the dwarves are headed out of the front terrace and into the mountains." Lindir sighed, personally relieved that the rowdy dwarves could no longer trash Rivendell.

"They're too stubborn for their own good…" Elrond trailed off angrily as he left the terrace, Lindir following behind him. Saruman sighed, leaving as well. Only Gandalf and Galadriel remained on the terrace, both deeply troubled after the meeting they had just had.

"The Necromancer cannot be allowed to regain his former strength if he has truly returned." Galadriel told the Wizard pensively as she looked away from him. Gandalf sighed heavily.

"I agree. But you and I both know that the Necromancer will be coming for Nina. He must know that she is destined to guard this world, and there is no doubt that he will try to corrupt her. He tried once when his Orcs attacked and captured her." Gandalf reasoned. Galadriel tensed at the mentioning of her daughter.

"The thought has plagued my mind ever since you revealed to us that blade," She gestured to the relic of Angmar on the table.

"She must be kept safe."

"I cannot keep her here, for her heart I can sense is with the dwarves. Mithrandir, Nina cannot return to the mortal world. You must ensure that she remains with the dwarven company for now."

"You will not train her?" Gandalf asked incredulously. "Your father trained you in order to prepare you for the task of guarding the light in this world, will you now deny your daughter that privilege?"

"She does not want it." Galadriel snapped, against her better judgement. "I have seen within her that she resents me as of now, and she wishes for nothing but to be away from me." She told him, anguish and hurt detectable in her voice. Gandalf approached her kindly, taking her hands in his.

"She needs time, she is mortal and young. Once she sees the situation with a clearer mind, she will not be so harsh." His smile was contagious, and Galadriel found herself smiling slightly at the old wizard.

"You will follow them?" She asked, subtly changing the subject.

"Yes."

"You are right to help Thorin Oakenshield," Galadriel sighed calmly. "But I fear this quest has set in motion forces that we do not yet understand. The riddle of the Morgul blade must be answered. Something moves in the shadows, unseen, hidden from our sight. It will not show itself, not yet. But every day it grows in strength. You must be careful, and so must my daughter." Her voice faltered a bit at the mentioning of Nina.

"I know that this is hard for you my lady," Gandalf squeezed her hands gently.

"She may not look to be her father's child sometimes, but she has his mannerisms. I remember her father as though I had left him yesterday…" Galadriel sighed wistfully, looking out into the breathtaking view of Imladris. Gandalf sensed that their conversation was over, and began to leave.

"Mithrandir? Why the Halfling?" Galadriel called after him as he went. She had not forgotten about the small hobbit travelling with the dwarves.

"I don't know," Gandalf smiled, thinking of Bilbo. "Saruman believes that is only great power that can hold evil in check, however that is not what I have found. I've found it is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness, and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps it is because I am afraid, and he gives me courage."

Galadriel stepped forward slowly and grasped Gandalf's old hands as he had before, and smiled the most beautiful smile an old wizard could have ever seen.

"Do not be afraid, Mithrandir. You are not alone." Galadriel met his eyes with determination. "Ae boe i le eliathon, im tulithon."

Gandalf bowed to the lady gracefully, showing his thanks where words could not express it. Galadriel gave a soft, inaudible sigh and let herself slip from the wizard's grasp. She had to see Nina once more before she left for the dwarves. Galadriel knew that once the girl had left, it would be some time before fate would allow their paths to meet again.

* * *

"Nina, daughter of the Lady of Light, allow me one last time to speak with you." Galadriel called, her beauty causing the dwarves to be stunned into silence.

The company had been on their way to the Misty Mountains, ready to leave behind Rivendell. Nina sighed at the hauntingly beautiful voice as she heard it, and allowed Nori to lead her to the Lady. Galadriel's warm hand gently took Nina's, and began to lead her away from the dwarves.

"We will wait for you," Fili called to her, and Nina turned and nodded. Her displeasure in the situation was not kept a secret.

"We will continue on to the Misty Mountains, she can travel with Gandalf to meet us." Thorin reasoned, and the company put up little protest: they wanted to be out of Rivendell, and they were satisfied that Nina had a guide in Gandalf.

Galadriel led Nina up many flights of stairs—at a pace too slow for Nina—before she finally said anything to her.

"You will leave with the dwarves, then." Galadriel spoke. It wasn't a question.

"I will." Nina replied as her mother paced about the room serenely. "I am."

"I wanted to give you something." She said, revealing a parchment-wrapped package on the table in the same terrace where she had met with the White Council only a few hours before.

"What is it?" Nina asked, hearing the crinkling of the parchment.

"A gift." Galadriel smiled slightly, thinking ironically how mothers in the mortal world never gave the gift she was about to give Nina. "You must know how to fight if you would ever survive this dangerous quest." She set a long sword in Nina's waiting arms.

"I already have a sword from the dwarves," Nina spat. Galadriel ignored the attitude.

"It will do you no good against a true enemy, this blade was forged by elves, and no Orc blade could possibly deter it. I wish that you keep it with you and claim it as your own." Galadriel practically ordered as she held the elven blade while Nina took out the one from the troll caves.

"Thanks." Nina mumbled as she held the new sword in her hand.

"It is named Macilril, meaning 'glittering blade.' It was made for only the pure-souled ones. Perhaps that is why I have decided that it would suit you." Galadriel explained, marveling at the fierce blueness of her daughter's eyes.

"Macilril." Nina repeated, testing the word on her tongue as she slipped the sword into her scabbard. "Is that all you wanted?" She stiffened.

"I had wanted to explain something to you before you left with the company of Thorin Oakenshield." Galadriel sighed, knowing that the subject may not be taken too well by Nina. "Being from the mortal world, I understand that this world has been made into a fictional world?"

"Yes, everything here isn't real. I'll be going back home soon where I can forget all of this." Nina reminded herself.

"The dwarves' quest means nothing to you?" Galadriel frowned. "I had thought—"

"I don't care if the mountain never gets reclaimed. Ever. But these dwarves took me in when I needed them and I can't just tell them that I don't care about Erebor. I know that it's important to them, and until I can get home yeah I'll help them get it back if I can." Nina steeled herself for Galadriel's reaction.

"Then you know the fate of this quest." Again, it wasn't a question. Nina hung her head.

"I do."

"You can say nothing to the dwarves or to anyone. Only I and you know the ending to this quest, and you would alter the entire course of Middle Earth if you were to tell them anything." She told Nina sternly.

"But then I could save them—"

"No, Nina. Your fate is to protect and guard Middle Earth when the time comes. Their fate is to fall fighting for Erebor. To change this would throw everything else in this world into the balance, no one could save it. It is vital that you say nothing to the dwarves. Not to any of them."

"I understand." Nina nodded, her throat suddenly feeling very dry. "Any other bombs you wanted to drop on me before I head out?"

"Nina, you have a mortal father. I, as you can see, am not mortal. You must protect this world with your powers, but you must also know that you have a rare choice. My parents both were of elven blood, while only one of yours was. Not now, but in the future you will be given a choice."

"What is this choice?" Nina huffed, becoming irritated with Galadriel's mysteriousness. "Get to the point I need to leave."

"I cannot tell you now, but I had to warn you: whatever you decide will not only affect you, but it will affect every being in Middle Earth. Choose wisely when it comes." Galadriel replied, her voice growing quicker and more urgent. This made Nina nervous.

"What do you mean _everyone_?" She panicked. "I can barely figure out how to hold a sword, let alone make decisions for a whole world!"

"In time, you will understand and you will be ready. For now though, my daughter, I must leave you."

"Wait!" Nina called, thrusting her arms out as if to somehow catch Galadriel before she left.

"Yes?" Galadriel turned and answered hesitantly.

"Did you…did you love my dad?"

"More than life, more than anything. Your father was my home, and although I had to leave him for this world, my heart never did. We must make sacrifices for the ones we love." Galadriel fought back the sorrow that was ages old within her.

"But my dad wasn't in Middle Earth, how could your protecting this world affect him?"

"Perhaps you will see in time."

Then there was silence. Nina somehow knew that Galadriel was gone, though she couldn't tell how she knew. She felt a certain satisfaction in knowing that Galadriel loved her dad, and Nina smiled to think of her father. She felt a sick feeling as she thought of her father and sister, James and Madison. Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought of how Madison used to call her Nina Elizabeth whenever she was mad, and how it used to annoy Nina so much. She would give anything to hear it again.

"Nina, my dear?" Gandalf's old voice reached her ears. "The dwarves will be expecting us to meet them in the Misty Mountains in some time. We had better get moving." Nina nodded, wiping the tears quickly and letting Gandalf lead her out of the terrace.

"Yeah, we should."

"What were you doing up here, my dear?" Gandalf frowned down at her thoughtfully.

"Nothing." Nina answered too quickly. "I just wanted a moment to myself, with all that has happened."

"That can be understood, you've had quite a visit here in Rivendell." Gandalf chuckled.

"Yeah, I just want to put it all behind me now." Nina laughed easily. Gandalf nodded thoughtfully.

"I do fear that it will not be that simple for you."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Whaaaat? What is the life-changing choice? Do you think Nina should tell the dwarves the ending of the story? Who should find out? Tell me in the reviews!**

**Soooo sorry for the long wait, my parents' 25th anniversary is coming up and we are planning a huge party...so writing sadly had to take a backseat. Buuut I'm back now and hopefully you all liked this chapter!**

******ALSO THIS IS IMPORTANT im not sure if i answered this or not but I got a review about the whole "Galadriel already has a daughter (Elrond's wife)" and yes thanks for bringing it up! To anyone else wondering about it, I will not be leaving out Galadriel's other family (they're just not ready for the story yet...) and Nina could be considered her first or second daughter. Depending on how you look at it :)******


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"_Grief does not change you…it reveals you." –John Green_

* * *

"Has it rained yet?" A voice penetrated the silence. Madison stared out of the window, registering vaguely that she had woken to the pitter-patter of rain hours ago.

"Earlier, but not much. It didn't ruin anything." She answered in a monotone. James sighed, knowing it hadn't been easy for either of them to deal with the death of…her.

"Good." He nodded, letting the screen door smack the doorframe behind him as he went back outside. He knew she meant that the rain didn't ruin the flowers set at the grave. The grave with the empty coffin.

Ever since the storm, neither father nor daughter had really spoke aside from funeral plans and the occasional crying together on the couch. James had preferred to bury himself in his work, never setting foot in the Nina's old bedroom or her drawing room. When he couldn't stand the silence in his home any longer, he would go for walks that could last for hours on end. Though he always stopped at least once at the same place on each walk—the backyard grave.

"I tried my best to save you, little girl." He croaked as he knelt on the soft grass where the coffin lay under him. He read the words on the gravestone that had haunted him through nightmares each night—Nina Elizabeth Bailyn, Beloved Daughter and Sister.

"I should have fought harder, I could have reached you I know I could have." He squeezed his hands into fists, not feeling the pain at all. "You were too young, too young!" He shouted through the tears, sniffing. "Do you think you could tell your mother I love her for me? I miss you both terribly, and I know you're with her now. Tell her to take good care of you for me, tell her I love you both so much," He sobbed, collapsing before the gravestone. "I love you so, so much, Nina."

Silence. Madison had grown so used to it that it did nothing to her to be surrounded by it. College was over for now, and she was supposed to be looking for a job. Madison vaguely thought of how she should clean the carpet in Nina's old drawing room, but she couldn't find the strength. The stain of the blue paint Nina had spilled the day she died still covered the carpet and had long since dried into it. Nina's room was covered in a thin layer of dust, no furniture having been moved. If anyone were to just walk into the bedroom, they would think someone still lived in it. The schoolwork was still haphazardly sprawled all over the desks along with her braille materials.

"Come back, Nina. Just come back." She whispered to herself as she watched her father collapse hopelessly on the ground in the backyard before the younger girl's grave. They had never found the body of her sister, thought Madison desperately. Until they found it, Madison was determined to let herself hope for the impossible. James had gone past the stage of grief that was denial, however Madison consciously knew that she was stuck in it. There still wasn't a body. Until there was, Nina was still alive in Madison's eyes.

* * *

"What do you think is taking them so long?" Bilbo shouted over the torrential rain as the company trekked through the Misty Mountains.

"Who?" Bofur yelled back. Bilbo sighed exasperatedly, though none could hear it over the storm.

"Gandalf and Nina!" Bilbo answered. Bofur merely shrugged.

"I wouldn't worry too much on it, Bilbo. She's with a wizard, what could go wrong?" Bofur suggested. Bilbo nodded, supposing the jolly dwarf was right. What had the company gone through thus far that Gandalf hadn't saved them from?

"Hold on!" Thorin shouted from ahead, causing Bilbo to be distracted. That, he soon learned, was a mistake.

Bilbo took a wrong step and slipped on the wet, rocky cliff, lurching into the chasm below. Dwalin reached out just in time, pulling the startled and now pale hobbit back against the rocky ledge.

"We must find shelter!" Thorin again ordered. An incoherent shout to 'watch out' came from one of the dwarves, and all looked up in time to see a humungous boulder barreling at them. With a terrified scream Bilbo pressed himself against the mountain and the dwarves followed suit without delay.

"This is no thunderstorm, it's a thunder battle!" Balin suddenly cried. All the dwarves looked to him in confusion until they looked to where he pointed. Bilbo couldn't believe his eyes as he watched a _giant _form out of the rock of the mountains.

"Bless me, the legends are true! Giants; Stone Giants!" Bofur exclaimed.

At the back of the company, Kili and Fili looked around hopelessly as they constantly pressed themselves against the mountain to avoid being crushed.

"I guess it was a good thing Gandalf and Nina aren't with us, I don't think either of them could have bested this." Fili exclaimed as the Stone Giants began their thunder battle.

"What's happening?" Kili cried, frightened and unable to comprehend his brother's previous comment.

The first giant hurled a huge boulder at the second, causing smaller rocks to plummet from the mountainside and hail down on the company. To their horror, the rock ledge began to split in two with an agonizing creak and the company was split into two groups. They were on the legs of a giant. Kili whipped his head back to his brother who was slowly floating away on the other leg.

"Kili! Grab my hand, Ki…" Fili trailed off as their thrust-out hands moved farther and farther apart. A sudden lurch broke their pitiful stare as one half of the company—including Kili—were thrown about as their giant failed to win the fight.

The giants smashed and battled each other, relentlessly battering the dwarves. The one half of the dwarves—including Fili and Thorin—watched in horror as the leg of the giant belonging to the other half of the company—including Kili and Bilbo—began to plummet toward the mountainside.

"NO KILI!" Thorin bellowed in anguish as the dwarves smashed into the wall. Fili couldn't breathe, how could he have lost his brother?

"Kili…Kili no…" He stuttered under his breath as the surviving dwarves rushed to save their smashed friends. One voice is what saved those survivors from lives of wallowing in grief.

"We're alright, we're all alive!" Balin grunted happily as he maneuvered out of the rocks around him, the others following suit. The unscathed half rushed to the aid of the others, all of them letting themselves have a moment of relief before continuing the treacherous journey.

"Wait, where's Bilbo? Where's the hobbit?" Bofur scrambled about after they had all gotten out of the rocks.

"There!" Ori cried, as the whole company rushed to the edge of the mountain. Bilbo was there—sure enough—hanging by his fingertips off of the ledge. His face was white as snow as he gasped the words 'help me' before going into full panic.

"Get him!" Dwalin ordered as they all reached for Bilbo. He grabbed at Dwalin's hand but slipped, almost falling when Thorin swung down and saved him. He pushed him up to Dwalin who pulled him onto the relative safety of the mountain when Thorin himself slipped. Dwalin groaned in pain and exertion as he struggled to pull up Thorin with all of his weight.

"I thought we'd lost our burglar," Dwalin commented breathlessly as Thorin gained his composure back though slightly flushed in the face.

"He's been lost ever since he left home." Thorin snapped, to everyone's surprise. "He should never have come. He has no place amongst us." Bilbo hung his head low at the harsh insult, and the dwarves tried to figure out how to react. "Dwalin!" He called with a stern tone. Dwalin sighed. There was no telling what Thorin would do next.

* * *

"How far are we, do you think?" Nina groaned as she wiped the endless stream of sweat on her brow. Gandalf chuckled lightly.

"Not too terribly far before we catch up to the others; that horrid storm had to have slowed them down I imagine." He replied as he held out his hand to help Nina climb further into the Misty Mountains.

"You don't think any of them got hurt, do you?" Nina frowned as she felt her way through the rocks.

"I certainly hope not." Gandalf answered kindly. Nina sighed.

"That's reassuring."

"Have you decided yet to tell me what you were doing alone in the council room in Rivendell and how you got there?" Gandalf asked suddenly as they walked. Nina gulped nervously; was she supposed to keep it a secret? Galadriel hadn't specified, but it seemed like a secretive kind of thing in Nina's opinion. But then again this was Gandalf, couldn't he be trusted?

"Maybe later, Gandalf. I'm very tired. When are we stopping for the night?" Nina decided to reply, putting off this decision as long as possible. She heard Gandalf sigh in defeat.

"How do you know that it is night, my dear?"

"I'm just really hoping its night so we can stop and rest." Nina grinned.

"I see," Gandalf chuckled. "Well then you are quite fortunate because it is nighttime, though it is very hot, and we shall rest."

"Hallelujah."

* * *

The crunch of leaves covering the forest floor were the only sounds to be heard as Madison trekked through the woods behind her house. Her eyes were red and puffy from the endless crying because of grief, and her clothes were long past needing to be washed.

"Here it is," She sighed, stopping at the spot that made her stomach churn. There she saw an old treehouse crashed into the ground, and a tree with a small splatter of blood on its trunk where Nina was hit. But there was no sign of the body ever being there. Madison took a deep breath, gaining her confidence.

"I'll find you, Nina Elizabeth. I will find you."

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**So for anyone wondering how Nina's family back in Virginia is holding up, that is how. Is Madison going a little crazy from grief or is she on to something...? Hmmmmmm **

**Also some details of Galadriel's history in Middle Earth (for this story) will be clarified soon, I just thought it would be too much info and not enough action. **

**Please leave a review, I would like to have at least 3 before I put up the next chapter (cuz I'll be needing motivation from reviews) soooo until next chapter! :) **


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"_Of all the things you choose in life, you don't get to choose what your nightmares are. You don't pick them; they pick you."—_John Irving

* * *

_Sweat. _Crack._ Breathing. Screams. _Crack_. Sweat. _Crack._ Breathing. Screams. Begging. _Crack_. Screams. Sweat. Can't breathe. Can't breathe…_

"_Fili…" She groaned as she recognized the familiar grunting. The cold stone penetrated the little warmth her body could generate. _

"_Don't move too much, Nina, they'll suspect something." Fili advised, his voice rough and barely there. _

"_What happened?" She stirred. Then it all came rushing back, overwhelming her mind. "The Orcs…"_

"_Yes, Nina, the Orcs." Fili sighed. _

"_How come we weren't tortured?" _

"_You weren't," Fili croaked with a rattle of chains. "I insisted they gave me all of it. You could never be asked to bear that pain." _

"_Don't do that…" Nina groaned. She felt terrible for making him bear all that pain for her. _

"_No, please, STOP!" Fili screeching cry pierced the room. The Orc roared so loud that the chains around Nina shook as the monster plucked her from the ground like a rag doll. She screamed. Darkness. Screams. _Crack_. Pain. So much pain…_

"_Where is Thorin Oakenshield?!" The Orc roared, its hot breath enveloping her face. _

"_Please, I don't know anything!" She screamed in horror. The Orc growled. The hiss of metal on metal sounded through the walls of the dungeon and Fili was screaming again._

"_Don't touch her please!" _

_Blinding pain. _

_The cold blade penetrated her skin, moving through bone and muscle and finally reaching the other end of her body. Nina couldn't even scream. _

"_This is a Morgul blade, and you will die slowly from it. Perhaps you should have thought twice before deciding to lie to us." The Orc growled, dropping the near lifeless form of Nina to the stone ground. _

"_You have to fight it, stay with me Nina. Stay with me…" _

"Nina!" Gandalf's voice shouted in her ear. Nina jumped up abruptly. She was only dreaming.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was dreaming." Nina gasped for air. Gandalf helped her stand.

"Sounded more like a nightmare, my dear." He said thoughtfully. "We should keep moving, we should reach the dwarves by this evening."

"Wonderful," Nina nodded as they began their trek. "The sooner everyone is together the better."

She gently slid her hand down to her side where the dream-blade has stabbed her, and nearly screamed when she felt a long jagged scar there. This was no dream, it was a memory.

* * *

"It was peculiar to see a woman travelling with a company of thirteen dwarves, do not you think?" Saruman remarked slyly as he entered the council room. Galadriel narrowed her blue eyes at the comment.

"Perhaps they needed someone with medicinal skills." Galadriel replied with the faintest trace of a smirk—her daughter could heal people, after all.

"Perhaps, but they _are _travelling with a wizard, they do not need a woman." Saruman reasoned. Galadriel merely nodded her acknowledgement of his comment. Saruman sighed, coming to stand next to her. "I do think she is very beautiful, that girl. Her hair golden like the sun and eyes blue as the sea…" He trailed off, an alarmingly accusing tone in his voice.

"Yes, she is remarkably stunning." Galadriel managed to keep her voice neutral.

"If I did not know better, I would think she had some relationship to you my Lady, for her features resemble yours greatly."

"Well then it is fortunate that you do know better." She met his suspicious gaze with her own cold one.

"Well if she was related to you, my Lady, that would make her extremely important to the fate of Middle Earth." Saruman taunted as he began to take his leave. He turned, making one last remark before leaving the council room:

"We would not want that power to fall into the wrong hands, now would we?"

Galadriel held her breath as he left, feeling a nagging worry in the back of her mind. Was Saruman planning to take advantage of her daughter's power? He would not even think of stopping the next protector of Middle Earth, would he? And the question that haunted her most: why would he do that?

It had been quite some hours before Nina and Gandalf could smell the most disgusting smell they had ever encountered. This of course meant that they had reached the dwarven company.

"Ah, there you are! We were worried for the both of you!" Bofur smiled widely when the two weary travelers came into view.

"I am glad to say we have both made it in one piece, but I must leave you now. Keep Nina safe with you, I must look ahead." Gandalf excused himself, and the dwarves knew they could not stop him.

"Are you alright, Miss Nina?" Thorin's deep voice took a slightly softer tone with the exhausted girl. She nodded carefully, realizing just how out-of-breath she was.

"Why am I so exhausted…?" She breathed to herself. The dwarves were instantly around her and ready to steady her if needed.

"You alright lass?" Balin asked softly. Nina nodded again, her head starting to throb a bit.

"I'm fine, just fine…" She said. Then she dropped.

* * *

When Nina woke, her head still hurt, and her mind was foggy. She couldn't remember where she was at first, until she felt a slightly familiar hot breath on her cheek.

"Kili stop breathing on me." She grunted as she tried to sit up. Kili stirred, and she realized he had been sleeping too.

"Sorry, I must've fell asleep." It was as if he had read her thoughts. Nina nodded. "Are you feeling a little better?"

"Was I not okay?"

"You fainted, Nina."

"Oh, well I must have just been tired, nothing to worry about."

"Nina, you looked very pale and then you just dropped. We were all worried, we care about you." Kili said gently. Nina gulped, thinking back to what she had told Galadriel about not caring whether the dwarves reclaimed the mountain or not. She felt a twinge of guilt; these dwarves got worried even when she simply fainted, and she didn't even care if they got their home back or not. But it was only a fictional story, right?

"You should get some sleep," Kili awkwardly suggested when Nina never replied to his previous statement. She shifted, and then it occurred to her that his arm was around her waist. Nina was far too tired to feel uncomfortable about it, so she simply dropped her head onto his strong chest. Kili was glad for a moment that she couldn't see him, since he was smiling far too widely for his own good.

"What's this?" Nina asked as her head felt a round hard stone under it. Kili shifted so he could take out the stone.

"It's a runestone from my mother." Kili replied gently. He held it out in front of the two of them and took her hand. He guided her hand until it touched the stone and she ran her fingers over the deep, intricate details on its smooth surface.

"Are there words on it?"

"Yes, I suppose," Kili chuckled at her innocent ignorance. "They are dwarf runes."

"I see." Nina yawned. "Your mother gave it to you?"

"Yes, in order to remember my promise."

"What was that?"

"A promise that I would come back to her, when all of this is over." Kili's voice faltered only slightly. Nina turned her head so that she was looking up at him.

"You will, I know you will." She smiled, her blue eyes bright even in the dark of night. Kili smiled back.

"Yeah well I will unless I do something reckless of course." Nina laughed at that.

"Just don't be stupid and everything will work out." She teased. The guilt still sat in the back of her mind. She had never really thought about how these dwarves had lives and families. They had feelings. They were people. And she couldn't even tell them that some of them would die. She couldn't even tell Kili that his promise wouldn't be fulfilled.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**Soooooo I'm really sorry for the long wait for this chapter but I was suffering some MAJOR writers' block and just couldn't get myself motivated to write. But this is a new chapter to read, and hopefully next week will be another chapter but I have a job now too so I'm really trying guys...soooo don't forget to leave a review, I would love to hear some ideas and stuff like that. Until next chapter!**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"_It takes darkness to be aware of the light."_ ― Treasure Tatum

* * *

Nina stirred in her sleep and her eyelids fluttered rapidly as she fought to remain asleep. Kili's chest steadily rose and fell under her head, but it hardly registered in her mind. She was fighting off the threat of nightmares as flashes of memories from being captured by Orcs sped by.

"_Nina please, just stay with me!" Fili whispered through his tears. She was such an innocent young girl, she didn't deserve this horrid death. Nina face was pale and her blue eyes were surrounded by beads of sweat and dark circles hung below her eyes. It had been at least an hour since she had been pierced with the Morgul blade, and it looked as though the writhing girl had little time left. _

"_It hurts so much Fili…" She managed to croak. It was the first she'd said in the whole time since she had been stabbed. He nodded with a sniffle. _

"_I know it does, I know, but don't you want to go home and see your family again? Please hold on for them Nina, please…" Fili encouraged. She stirred at the mention of her family. They seemed like nothing but a distant dream now, a fantasy family that she could ever have again. _

"_My daughter, Av-'osto." The hauntingly melodic voice filled Nina's ears. This couldn't be a part of the nightmare, could it? "You do not know me, but I know your destiny, and it does not end with this mortal wound." The smooth voice filled her ears as everything went white. Nina remembered this to be part of her memory. "I will heal you this time because you are not yet strong enough to heal yourself, but I warn you that it will not last. The darkness will haunt you in the coming days, you must fight it…" The voice started to fade as the whiteness gradually started to return to the usual blackness of Nina's vision. Nina struggled._

"_Wait, who are you? What darkness?" Nina called out. But the voice was gone. _

"Wait!" She shot up from her position of laying on Kili and discovered that she was covered in a sheet of cold sweat and was breathing heavily.

"What's wrong?" Bofur jumped at her outburst. He was the dwarf on watch.

"Sorry, I must have had a nightmare, nothing to worry over." Nina tried her best to hide her shaking. Hardly a moment later, she felt the spot on her side where the scar was start to burn. She clutched at it while trying not to make a scene when the voice reached her again.

_The darkness will haunt you in the coming days, you must fight it…_

And just like that, the burning sensation was gone and the voice with it. Nina furrowed her brow in confusion as she heard rustling.

"Where do you think you're going?" Bofur whisper-shouted to someone. Nina strained to listen, but Bofur and the other person were talking in hushed tones and they moved farther from camp.

"Get some sleep, Miss Nina." She heard the gruff voice of Thorin whisper from somewhere near her. She started a little at him being awake, which only resulted in Kili subconsciously tightened his grip around her shoulders. She wiggled her way back down next to Kili and tried to close her eyes and sleep.

Nina's mind raced as she thought of the quest, of her home, of Galadriel, and of the choice. What was the choice and how could it possibly be so important? The thought had crossed her mind that perhaps the choice involved her being immortal. She knew from reading the Hobbit in school that Elves were immortal (though she wasn't any expert on all things Middle Earth, she wasn't one of those fangirls) and now according to Galadriel, Nina was technically a half-elf. She wondered vaguely if that was common or even counted as a race at all. She felt herself subconsciously reach up to feel her ears, since elves were known to have pointy ears. It was stupid to think, she knew, since if she had pointy ears _someone_ would have noticed in all of her 18 years of living.

Then there was the issue of Galadriel herself. Nina hadn't done very much research on the characters of Middle Earth, but she remembered from a classmates' project that Galadriel had a family. This of course begged the question of who they were. Nina vaguely wondered if this would end up like that Adam Sandler movie Blended or something.

"This is stupid," She whispered to herself. With a sigh, Nina closed her eyes. _None of this is real, it's all some hallucination. I'm in a hospital on Earth in a coma, and this is my dream. After all, I _was _working on my essay about the Hobbit when I got knocked out…_

And just like that Nina was thinking of Thorin and her essay. The prompt that had been burned into her memory from her pesky teacher circled her mind: Based on the events of _The Hobbit, _evaluate whether or not you think that Thorin Oakenshield was a hero or a villain. Nina snorted to herself—he seemed more like a villain to her. He was putting his friends—his family—in danger to reclaim a mountain when they had perfectly good mountains anywhere else. Why did it have to be Erebor? Nina sighed again, realizing just how stubborn dwarves were. Her thoughts were interrupted when the ground rumbled beneath her, and she shook Kili to alert him.

"What in Mahal's name…?" He trailed off groggily.

"What's that?" She heard Bofur exclaim from somewhere nearby, and Thorin bellowed for everyone to wake up. Just then she felt a sickening _crack_, like the sound and feeling you got right before the ride dropped at a carnival. She screamed as she felt the air beneath her fly by—she was falling, and fast.

"Hang on!" Bombur grunted, grabbing Nina to break her fall.

The dwarves and Nina landed in a heap together and Nina rushed to her feet, feeling very vulnerable and unable to see in the new place.

"Goblins." Fili growled from beside her. Nina gulped nervously, remembering this part of the story. She tried to relax herself—Gandalf saves them, she reminded herself. Then she remembered that her presence in itself had already altered the story a little, and the bubbling panic started to return. Would they still be saved?

They were dragged forward forcefully by the Goblins, and Nina felt grimy and disgusting bony fingers clutching at her arms and pushing her forward. Dwalin stayed by her side to make sure she didn't fall off of the steep paths made by the Goblins. She looked pale, he thought vaguely. Her face had fear and panic written all over it and he felt a small sense of pity for her and her vulnerable state.

"Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom? Spies? Thieves? Assassins?" A great voice boomed over the din of the Goblins. It sounded like there were thousands of them, thought Nina.

"Dwarves, your Malevolence." Great nickname, Nina smirked to herself.

"Well don't just stand there; search them! Every crack, every crevice." The Great Goblin growled. Nina was glad that she didn't know what he looked like.

"They call him the Great Goblin," Dwalin explained to Nina as they struggled to be free of the aggressive Goblins. She felt Macilril, her sword from Galadriel, being ripped from her side and tossed away. There was a large and growing pile of weapons near them as the dwarves were searched.

"What are you doing in these parts?" The Great Goblin bellowed once the searching ceased. Silence. "Speak!" Still silence.

"Well then if they will not talk, we'll make them squawk! Imprison them, for now." He ordered. Nina sighed with relief.

"At least we're not dying, right?" She asked Dwalin hopefully as they were led to the prison cells.

"Perhaps it would be better that we were killed quickly rather than die slowly in prison." This caused Nina to gulp in fear.

"We could try to escape." She whispered to him. Dwalin sighed.

"The Goblin tunnels are a labyrinth, we can only hope that we would find a way out before being discovered."

After what felt like hours, a goblin came in to escort Thorin to the throne room of the Great Goblin, if it could even be called that. Nina remembered from the book that the Goblin tunnels were dungy and gross, and for once she didn't regret not having to see it. Her mind wandered to see if she could remember anything else from the book, and started to feel panic bubble up in her when she couldn't remember the dwarves getting imprisoned.

"This isn't right," She held her head in her hands, trying to remember every detail she could. She mentally kicked herself for not paying a _little _more attention to the class discussions about the plot. Nevertheless, she had to go off of what she had even though that was only bits and pieces.

"He's been gone a good while…" She heard Fili grumble restlessly in the cell beside her. Nina, having been interrupted from her thoughts, refocused on the fact that Thorin had been taken.

"They couldn't have…hurt him, he'll be fine." Nina tried to comfort Fili, but her voice sounded uncertain even to her own ears. Fili sighed next to her.

"As long as they don't figure out who he really is."

"Why would that be so bad? Maybe his being an important ex-king and all could get us out of here." Nina shrugged as she scooted to the wall of her cell that Fili was on the other side of.

"We've been attacked by Orcs, Nina. You and I were captured and tortured because they were looking for Thorin. If the Great Goblin knows that they are searching for him, he could give us up to the Orcs." Fili explained uneasily. Nina could just feel the exhaustion he was experiencing.

"Bolg," Nina whispered before she could stop herself.

"What did you say?" Fili asked slowly. Nina panicked.

"Nothing, just rambling nonsense, you know me." She laughed it off nervously. Whether or not Fili actually bought her terrible excuse didn't matter when they heard the commotion of Thorin stomping back to his cell.

"What happened?" She heard Balin ask urgently. There was a very long pause before Thorin spoke in a low voice.

"Azog is alive." There was a collective gasp from the company. "The Goblin has sent word to him that we are here, and Azog is out for my head."

"What do we do?" Ori asked helplessly when no one spoke.

"We get some rest for now, and in a few hours we will think of some way to get out of here before Azog receives that message. As much as I hate to admit it, we cannot do anything in these cells and you are all exhausted. Rest, and then we will escape this." Thorin ordered. With that, no more voices were heard save the occasional grunt, and soon the dwarves had fallen into light sleep.

Nina's mind, however, was racing. Her thoughts were swirling around and around her head like a hurricane with no calm, and she felt like soon they would overcome her. Choice. Bolg. Azog is alive. Fili. Kili. Thorin. The story. The choice. Galadriel. Her family. Galadriel's family. Living. Where's Bilbo? She had so many questions, and Nina wished she could speak with Galadriel or Gandalf even if only for a moment to answer her questions. She thought about how powerful Galadriel was, and wondered if she could somehow be summoned or something weird like that. She cleared her mind the best that she could, closed her eyes, and thought of one thing.

_Galadriel. _

Nothing. Nina sighed, when had her mother come through for her before anyway?

_I am here, my daughter. _

_I didn't think that would work. _Nina responded to the voice in her mind. Galadriel was somehow speaking to her telepathically from Imladris, and Nina found herself surprisingly unsurprised by it.

_Are you in danger Nina? _Galadriel asked with urgency.

_Yeah, I'd say so. We're stuck in the Goblin dungeons and they've sent word to Azog the Defiler that Thorin is here._

_The Defiler lives? _Galadriel sounded surprised. _He was said to have perished in the Battle of Azanulbizar. _

_I'm thinking his survival has something to do with my presence here. I'm changing the story by being in it, bit by bit. _Nina replied.

_That is to be expected. You must not tell the dwarves of their fates though, or all will fall apart in the world. Thorin Oakenshield was not meant to rule Erebor according to the Valar, or else he would live. Remember that the Durin line is fated to perish. You cannot change this. _

_I understand. _Nina sighed, feeling defeated. She wanted so much for the three of them to live, because she knew the quest would be for nothing if they didn't. It was exactly the reason why she never liked the book.

_Galadriel, I had a question I wanted to ask you. _Nina pressed on, determined to find out all that she could while she had Galadriel. _In my world, the real world, you have a family. Are they in this world? _A long pause.

_Yes, I have another family. When I was taken from your world, I lived in a place called Valinor with my family. An evil Valar, named Melkor, killed my grandfather Finwe and took something very important from us to Middle Earth. My uncle, Feanor, then promised that he would find Melkor and retrieve them. However, his quest to Middle Earth was in direct defiance to the Valar and their will, so the quest ended in much bloodshed. It was then that I needed to become the protector of Middle Earth, my destiny and soon yours. I travelled with some others to Middle Earth, not exactly pleasing to the Valar, and stayed in the land of Doriath where I had some relatives of my mother. _

_This is when I met an elf, a Prince of Doriath. _Nina could hear the small smile in Galadriel's voice. _His name was Celeborn. We fell in love, Nina, and we are married now. I had a daughter some time later—Celebrian. To make things easier for you to understand, I will tell you that later in life Celebrian married Elrond, whom you already know. Tragically, my daughter was attacked by Orcs some years later and was so troubled that she sailed to the Undying Lands. That is why you have never met her. That is my family, and that is the simplest version of my past. _Galadriel concluded. Nina could hardly that a tear had fallen down her cheek while listening. Her past was filled with sadness and death, the only good thing being Celeborn.

_I'm so sorry. _Nina said, unable to think of any other comment.

_Do not mourn for me, my child, for I have now my daughter Nina to watch grow. I will always love my Celebrian, and I will always love your sister and father. However you must understand that I cannot get back to them ever, my duties are here. I have chosen to stay with my husband. _Galadriel's words were gentle but firm, and Nina understood why.

_I'm not mad at you for making a family for yourself here, Galadriel. You deserve a good life, I can't deny that. _Nina assured her.

_I love you dearly, my daughter. But you are in danger of much more than just the Goblins and Azog. I fear that much darker forces are looking to control your power and corrupt your destiny. You must fight the darkness, Nina. _

And with that, Galadriel was gone, and Nina was left with only a few less questions than before. She sighed, her eyelids drooping uncontrollably. It wasn't long before the poor girl fell into a deep sleep, a nagging notion in her mind that maybe this was no coma, maybe this was real.

* * *

"Oh Nina where are you?" Madison huffed to herself. She was crouched under the canopy of trees in the woods where…the accident happened. She was staring intently at the splatter of blood on the tree trunk that had ruined her family's life. She was so lost in her thoughts and possible theories that she didn't even register the sound of leaves crunching behind her.

"A terrible thing, the death of a loved one." A voice spoke out from behind, causing Madison to jump. "I apologize, I had no intention of frightening you."

Madison looked up to see a tall, lanky man with hair that was jet black. The hair was rough looking and messy though, and it blew gently in the light breeze. His eyes were a piercing emerald, a color that could rival her sisters' blue ones. He smiled gently, a dazzling smile. The man was very handsome and fit, Madison acknowledged. Then she noticed the long, jagged scar travelling from his temple to his chin on the side of his face. This made her nervous.

"No worries, I should've heard you coming." She replied after realizing she had been staring way too long. "How did you know about my sister?"

"The expression on your face, the way your eyes carry that kind of irreparable pain and sense of loss." He replied, walking forward a little. Madison was speechless. "Also there's this thing called an obituary." She had to laugh at that, causing him to laugh.

"Oh, yeah I guess I'm an idiot." Madison chuckled.

"No, no, don't feel bad." He gestured to her kindly. "What's your name?"

"You know that my sister has passed away but you don't know my name?" Madison cocked an eyebrow.

"I guess I'm the idiot now." He grinned.

"I'm Madison, Madison Bailyn." She smiled back. "And you?"

"Erich," He flashed his flawless smile. "Erich Arvandor."

"Well Mr. Arvandor, what brings you into these woods?" Madison smiled lightly up at him.

"I have been watching you, Madison Bailyn." Erich's voice went a bit lower than before. Madison's smile faded. "And I know that you have been searching for answers. I am here because I have those answers."

"What are you talking about?" Madison stood up, trying to hide the shaking and desperation in her voice.

"I know where your sister is."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Weeeelllll who's this new character? Personally I love this guy Erich and I have been dying to bring him into the story...who do you think he is and how does he know about Nina? Also...i know Galadriel's history was really condensed and simplified in that, but I felt like it would be impractical to expect Nina to understand all of the details and the history of everything Galadriel was involved with. Also there's the fact that some of her history that we know about hasn't happened yet...**

**Let me know what you think of everything going on and leave a review! Until the next chapter! **


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

_"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will."_  
― Mahatma Ghandi

* * *

"Wait, so let me get this straight." Madison rambled as she followed her mysterious new companion Erich. "My sister isn't dead, but she's been transported into another world?"

"Middle Earth, to be exact." Erich corrected her nonchalantly. Madison almost started hyperventilating right then and there. "You know what Middle Earth is, you just don't realize it."

"I'm pretty sure I'd remember knowing about another world." Madison stopped and folded her arms over her chest. Erich turned to face her and sighed.

"Do you have a…what are they called, cellular communication device?"

"A phone?" Madison raised her eyebrows.

"Yes, a phone. I apologize but you must remember I'm not from around here." Erich reasoned as Madison pulled out her phone. "Can you search things?" She nodded and pulled up the app and handed him the phone.

"Ah, here it is." He smiled to himself with pride as he pulled up a video for her to see. She watched in silence.

"_Thorin, you gave a promise." _

"_You brought upon them only ruin and death."_

"_You've won the mountain, is that not enough?" _

Stones fell from a mountain.

"_Now, we defend it." _

She saw the golden words hit the screen like massive boulders crashing onto her as her fear rose.

This December.

From the director of the Lord of the Rings' Trilogy.

"_You cannot see what you have become."_

"_Everything I did, I did for them."_

Prepare for the defining moment, of the Middle Earth legend.

The golden words shimmered and Madison staggered back.

"The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies," She whispered in horror. "That movie coming out in a few months." Her fear turned to anger. "Is this some kind of sick joke? My sister is dead, and you try to tell me she's living in this fictional world?" Madison screamed at him as tears fell from her eyes.

"Madison please, I came to you because I knew you would believe. I can take you to Middle Earth, it is very much a real place; and your sister is in the middle of it. She needs to be returned home, for she is being lied to. You are her sister, she'll believe you. An elf there has lied to her, and now she is grave danger." Erich reasoned with an alarming sense of urgency in his voice.

"What kind of danger?" She asked slowly as the fear rose steadily.

"You know the ending to the story. Thorin will succumb to the gold-sickness, and he _will _kill your sister."

There was a long pause as Madison thought things over.

"How would we get there?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Erich grinned. He grabbed her hand and led her further into the woods until they reached a small, unnaturally circular clearing. "_Thrak alnej votar, mausan goth!" _He shouted into the air. Madison questioned his sanity, not for the first time since their meeting.

"What did you say?" She asked incredulously. Erich looked far too excited for his own good.

"It means, 'bring me home, my lord.'" He translated. "Now, hold on." He grabbed her hand, and Madison noticed the wind picking up. Before she could say anything, the wind had swirled around them and the world went red before Madison's eyes. She could hardly scream.

She tumbled onto the grass after what seemed like too long, and she couldn't find the strength to lift her chest to heave in air. Erich crawled over to her and rested a hand to her back to comfort her. When she finally regained strength and began breathing properly again, she observed her surroundings. There was soft grass, blowing gently in the warm summer air. The sky was blue, and there was a beautiful mountain range before her.

"Where are we?" She rubbed her head, slowly standing to find Erich already up and examining the place.

"Looks like we've landed at the troll campfire…" He mumbled aloud. Madison set her hands to her hips.

"What does that mean?"

"In the story, there are certain specific places where Thorin's company experience major events in the story in your world. For us, they are reference points. We can use them to keep track of how far along the timeline the company has gotten. By the looks of this camp, they've been here already." Erich explained. Madison looked around.

"How soon must we catch up?" She asked, wanting to get this done so she could pretend it had never happened. Erich met her gaze somberly.

"Before the dwarves reach Mirkwood, we have to catch them. If Nina travels any further with them, she will change the story too much. The book and movies in your world will be altered, but here things will be much worse. Nina's presence changes the entire fate and future of Middle Earth for those of us that live in it." Madison gulped nervously.

"You know, my sister is blind, she could never…" Madison trailed off, not even wanting to think of how afraid and confused her sister must be.

"The dwarves no doubt have taken her into their company." Erich assured her. "For now at least, I do not think they would harm her."

"For now?" Madison raised her eyebrows in panic.

"There is no telling how long the dwarves will trust Nina, she is so different from them." Erich frowned to himself. "That's why we have to save her." Madison nodded.

"This is insane." She kept nodding frantically. "But if it means I see my sister again, I'll do it. Why the heck not?" She threw her arms into the air. Erich smiled gently.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

"I do have one last question…for now." Madison said as Erich rolled his eyes. "How does time work here?"

"Relatively the same," Erich replied easily as they started walking. "Nina has been here close to a month now, which is how she's been dead in your world, is it not?"

"Yeah." Madison tried her best to keep up.

"So then however long it takes us to save her is how long you'll be gone too." He glanced over to gauge her reaction. She only nodded with steely determination.

"Then we'd better get going."

* * *

"Nina, wake up." Fili whispered from the cell next to her. She stirred, her eyes heavy as she forced them open. The smell of goblin and rotting flesh reminded her abruptly of where she was. She sat up slowly.

"It's time to get out of here." She could hear the eagerness in Fili's voice as he said the words.

"How?" She mumbled groggily. She heard the commotion of dwarves moving around hurriedly.

"Thorin snatched the keys from the goblin that took him back to the Great Goblin this morning." Fili explained as he got up and left his cell eagerly. He unlocked hers' and helped Nina up, dragging her out of the cell by her hand. "We'll be safe now, we just have to get out of here." She nodded and felt his hand leave hers'.

Nina staggered forward, grasping the nearest wall and walked along, her hand steadily touching the wall as she followed, slowly, the noise of the dwarves. They were gathering their weapons from the pile in the next room, and Nina was anxious to get Macilril strapped to her side again. Someone took her sword and strapped it to her, to which she mumbled a small thanks.

"Come, this way." Thorin started forward, the company on his heels as he led the way out of the dungeon. Nina followed urgently, keeping one hand on the wall and focusing on nothing but the sound of the dwarves and staying on their heels. They half-jogged for a solid ten minutes before Nina smashed into the back of the dwarf in front of her. They didn't react to her, which she found weird until she registered the constant hum of goblins surrounding them.

"There's thousands of them." Dwalin whispered in horror in front of her.

**Here…..**

"Ah, ah, ah, ah, a—a box without hinges, key, or lid; yet golden treasure inside is hid." Bilbo stammered, his sword outstretched to protect himself from Gollum. He had fallen into this abyss the day before, knocked out for most of the night until he had followed Gollum, an altogether unsightly creature, to this place.

"A box…and a lid…and then a key…" Gollum squeezed his head in frustration. They had entered a game of riddles, but Bilbo found that it was no game at all. If he lost, Gollum would end his life, and if he won Gollum would help him escape. Bilbo wondered if he'd see the dwarves again.

"Well?" He prompted, an excitement rising in him as the odds turned to his favor.

"It's nasty!" Gollum spat.

"Give up?"

"Give us a chance, precious, give us a chance!" Bilbo rolled his eyes restlessly. "Eggses! Eggses! What crunchy little eggses, yes, grandmother taught us to suck them, yes."

"Correct," Bilbo muttered exasperatedly. A fluttering noise sounded and he turned to look, and returned his gaze to find with horror that Gollum was nowhere to be seen.

"We have one for you: All things it devours, birds, beasts, trees, flowers. Gnaws iron, bites steel, and grinds hard stones to meal. Answer us." Gollum's sinister voice echoed throughout the cave.

"Give me a moment, please, I gave you a good long while." Bilbo racked his brain for an answer as he searched with his sword out for Gollum. "I don't know this one…" He mumbled to himself nervously.

"Is it tasty? Is it scrumptious? Is it crunchable?" The voice kept echoing. Almost immediately, Bilbo felt cold, bony fingers grip his throat and he lurched out of the way in time to point his sword at Gollum.

"Let me think!" Bilbo ordered, determined not to take his eyes off of Gollum this time.

"It's stuck." Gollum grinned horribly. "Time's up." Bilbo felt cold fear as he watched Gollum prepare to attack him. Then it hit him.

"Time. The answer is time." Bilbo smiled in relief when Gollum snarled in defeat.

"Last question. Last chance." Gollum decided. "ASK US!" Bilbo stammered, unable to think of another riddle. He moved toward the lake and thought, letting his hand drift absentmindedly to his pocket. There he felt the outline of a ring, namely the one he had found when following Gollum earlier.

"What have I got in my pocket?" Bilbo murmured. Gollum growled.

"That's not fair! It's against the rules!" He exclaimed, throwing down a rock he had been concealing. Bilbo raised his eyebrows and gestured to the rock sarcastically. _And he says I'm not fair, _thought Bilbo.

"No, you said 'ask me a question.' Well, that is my question. What have I got in my pocket?"

"Three guesses, precious. It must give us three." Gollum reasoned, holding up two fingers. Bilbo ignored it.

"Very well, guess away."

"Handses!"

"Wrong, guess again."

"Fish-bones, goblins' teeth, wet shells, bat's wings…Knife!" Gollum rattled off. "Oh, shut up!"

"Wrong again, last guess."

"String!" Gollum whipped around with realization. "Or nothing,"

"Two guesses at once," Bilbo reminded in a sing-song voice. "Wrong both times."

"No!" Gollum sobbed like a child.

"So, come then, I won the game, you promised to show me the way out."

"Did we say so, precious, did we say so?" Gollum snarled, looking up slowly to meet Bilbo's gaze. "What _has _it got in its pocketses?"

"That's no concern of yours. You lost." Bilbo staggered back a little, losing his confidence as Gollum fearlessly approached.

"Is it?" Gollum smiled evilly. He reached into his pocket, then upon realizing it was empty, screamed in rage and cursed. "Lost! Curses and splashes, my precious is lost!"

"What have you lost?" Bilbo called to him, a creeping suspicion that the ring was his lost possession.

"Mustn't ask us! Not its business! Gollum, Gollum." He sobbed over the surface of the lake, and Bilbo started to back away while trying not to be noticed. Gollum shook with rage.

"What has it got in its nasty little pocketses?" He hissed.

Bilbo made no reply, only clutching the ring tighter in his pocket.

"He stole it. He stole it! HE STOLE IT!"

* * *

"Bones will be shattered, necks will be wrung! You'll be beaten and battered, from racks you'll be hung. You will lie down here and never be found, down in the deep of Goblin Town!" The Great Goblin sang joyously as the dwarves and Nina were grouped to the center of the throne room and stripped of their weapons—again.

"What a lovely song," Nina growled sarcastically to herself.

"I know that sword! It is the Goblin-Cleaver, the Biter, the blade that sliced a thousand necks!" The Great Goblin suddenly squealed from atop his throne as Thorin's sword is revealed.

Suddenly, Nina felt stinging sensations on her back as it registered that she was being whipped. She screeched from the pain as the dwarves fell under the heavy whips.

"Slash them! Beat them! Kill them! Cut off his head!" The Goblin pointed savagely at Thorin. Thorin was ripped from the group of whipped dwarves and held down to be beheaded. The dwarves screamed in rage and protest, struggling to free themselves to fight back.

Before any of them could be successful in that, a bright light enveloped the whole town. Nina felt everything go silent, and goblins flew into the air, smashing into walls. Gandalf walked up slowly once the wave had settled, ignoring the stares.

"Take up arms, fight!" He ordered, allowing Nina to recognize it as him. Her sword was handed to her by Dwalin and she unsheathed it almost without thinking.

"You can't use that thing!" Dwalin yelled to her. "You haven't been trained properly!" Nina frowned.

"I was told that if I was going to survive this quest I would have to rely on all of you failing. I can at least try to fight." She reasoned, her voice oddly calm given the situation. Kili appeared beside her.

"At least I've taught you _something._" He grinned. Nina couldn't resist the smile that crept across her face as she started to actually feel useful. They all leapt into action, the dwarves fighting like experts. Nina listened closely for each swing of a blade that got too close and she hacked at any that did. She managed to injure many of the goblins in her path, taking care not to kill anyone.

"Follow me, quickly. Run!" Gandalf ordered urgently. Nina sheathed Macilril and felt a familiar hand grip hers' as she was guided along the goblin tunnels.

The dwarves maneuvered their way through the tunnels in a way that Nina could only imagine being part of a video game. It didn't take long before Kili had to release her hand so both of them could fight, him shooting the goblins and her hacking blindly at what she could. They reached a ledge with no path; they were trapped with goblins closing in. Thorin ordered that the ropes be cut, and soon Nina felt herself swinging. Kili grabbed her hand to steady her.

"Hold onto me." He ordered quickly. Nina had no time to question him and wrapped her arms around him like a small child. She felt the sensation of flying, even if only for a few moments before they landed abruptly onto the wooden paths again. There was a thunderous bang.

"You thought you could escape me?" The booming voice of the Great Goblin bellowed. Nina could have cried in exasperation at this point. Gandalf stepped forward boldly. "What are you going to do now, wizard?" He snarled.

Gandalf poked him in the eye and sliced his belly. The Great Goblin fell to his knees and the pathways shook, allowing Gandalf to finish him off with the slice of his neck.

"That'll do it." The Great Goblin gurgled out before he slumped down in a dead heap. The pathways shook fiercely.

"Oh no." Nina gasped just before the platform gave way and the dwarves were plummeting to the ground below. She gripped the side of the falling platform in time to stay alive when they hit the ground, all of the dwarves grunting in agony.

"Well that could have been worse." Bofur grunted. As if there was some all-powerful force against them, the corpse of the Great Goblin landed smack-dab on top of the company.

"You've got to be joking!" Dwalin roared in pain as the dwarves and Nina crawled out from under the wreckage. They all were grunting and complaining, and for a moment it seemed like all danger was gone. Only a moment.

"GANDALF!" Kili screamed with desperation from other side of the fallen platform. Nina's head was on a swivel as the deafening sound of thousands of goblins rushed at her. She swallowed dryly before forcing herself to her feet.

_Never let yourself get comfortable in relying on us to be perfect. _

Kili's words rang in her ears and Nina nodded to herself with steely determination. She started to run. The sounds of Gandalf and the company were just ahead of her, and she knew she was not being left behind. She ran straight, focused on the sounds of heavy breathing and the smell of sweat.

For the first time in this quest, Nina felt very confident. Despite the situation, she found herself laughing breathily and smiling widely. She was running, really running. She was hearing, smelling, touching, using every sense and emotion she had and in a way it felt like she could see. She was following those dwarves and she was doing it on her own, without sight. She beamed, her blue eyes tearing up.

"I can see, I can see!" She exclaimed to herself in a gasp. Though her sight didn't function, Nina used her other sense to a new, heightened degree that she had never known she could do before. "Screw the Valar, I've got this whole thing down without sight!" She laughed. Fortunately none of the dwarves were paying attention. She ran and ran until she could feel the warmth of sunlight on her skin. Her boots crunched on the grass fresh with dew and she was aware of everything.

All of her life, Nina had aspired to be an artist. Though blind, she was determined to defy the odds and achieve her goals. However, she had never realized how it really had affected her. Ever since being in Middle Earth, Nina had let the dwarves protect her, and she honestly hadn't been trying hard enough when being trained by Dwalin. Now though, it felt as though everything had changed. She could use her other senses and somehow that was a big deal for her. It meant that she could do this. She could live through this, and she could do it on her own.

"Five, six, seven, eight…Bifur, Bofur…that's ten…Fili, Kili…that's twelve…and Bombur makes thirteen. Now we have Nina, which makes fourteen. Where's Bilbo? Where is our Hobbit?" Gandalf spoke as Nina sensed that everyone was stopping. No one answered. "Where is our Hobbit?!"

"Curse the Halfling! Now he's lost?!" Dwalin growled. Nina was too busy gaining her breath back to think about what had happened to Bilbo.

"I thought he was with Dori!"

"Don't blame me!"

"Well, where did you last see him?" Gandalf huffed as Nina rolled her eyes at the dwarves.

"I think I saw him slip away, when they first collared us." Nori piped up. Nina stepped forward slightly.

"What happened exactly? Tell me!" Gandalf ordered. Nina felt a presence near her, but she didn't know what it was.

"I'll tell you what happened," Thorin barked. "Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it! He's thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since first he stepped out of his door! We will not be seeing out Hobbit again. He is long gone." Nina felt the presence beside her move forward and a voice uttered from it.

"No, he isn't." Nina jumped back at Bilbo's voice next to her, and she felt a strange sick feeling. Something wasn't right about Bilbo.

"Bilbo Baggins! I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life!" Gandalf chuckled with relief.

"Bilbo, we'd given you up!" Kili cried cheerily.

"How on earth did you get past the Goblins?" Fili gasped in awe.

"Riddles in the Dark…" Nina muttered to herself quietly. She knew it was a chapter title in the book, and she nodded as she remembered the game of riddles that Bilbo played with Gollum.

"What did you say?" Bilbo looked to her with puzzlement and she could sense the fear in his voice.

"Nothing, just rambling nonsense like I always do." She laughed it off, making a mental note to improve her excuses.

"Well, what does it matter? He's back." Gandalf chuckled with some suspicion.

"It matters! I want to know: why _did _you come back?" Thorin stepped forward. There was a long pause before Bilbo spoke.

"Look, I know you doubt me, I know you always have. And you're right, I often think of Bag End. I miss my books. And my armchair. And my garden. See, that's where I belong. That's home to me. And that's why I came back, because you don't have one. A home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can."

There was a stunned silence after his words, one where the dwarves were pondering what had just happened, Gandalf was pleasantly surprised, Bilbo was nervous, and Nina was beaming in the direction of the small, brave Hobbit. Thorin's gaze dropped to the suddenly interesting ground.

"We should keep moving, it will be night soon." The company nodded and all followed, Bilbo feeling slightly discouraged. The walking lasted only a moment, however, before there was a gut-wrenching screech and the company stopped in their tracks.

A Warg charged at them and Bilbo ducked just in time. Thorin huffed angrily.

"Out of the frying pan…"

"And into the fire. RUN!" Gandalf finished. Nina ran with more urgency and kept up with the company. She felt the presence of someone next to her and she spoke to them as she ran.

"What is it? What are we running from?"

"Orc pack and Wargs!" Bofur answered in a panicky voice. Nina felt a cold fear run down her spine as she quickened her pace. She could not have been more grateful when she heard a dwarf scream "cliff," or else she may have run right off of it in her frightened state.

"Up into the trees, all of you! Climb, Bilbo, climb!" Gandalf ordered and Nina thrust out her hand to find a tree. She remembered her treehouse back home and how she had to climb the steep ladder, however it seemed to be nothing compared to the slippery pines here. Instead of tree, her hand found another warm and slightly sweaty hand which hauled her up just in time as a Warg reached up to snatch her.

"Don't worry, you're safe." Kili squeezed her hand. Nina was grateful that he wasn't letting go, considering she wasn't near the trunk to hold onto it and the Wargs were shaking the trees violently.

"Thank you," She gave a short nod.

"They're coming!" Thorin warned, and Nina suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. Of course they were coming, even a blind girl could tell that.

There was a low growl, one so soft and menacing Nina wondered if she was imagining it. But in no time she knew she hadn't, for the trees had stilled and the company was near silent. She struggled to breathe properly from the fear that clutched at her throat.

Thorin watched as the pale Orc nudged his Warg closer, allowing the dim light of the moon to catch his face. Thorin felt as though a giant boulder had smashed into his chest. It couldn't be.

"Azog?" He said, his voice barely coming above a whisper. The pale Orc grinned sickeningly as his white Warg growled softly.

"_Nizdigid? Nuzdi gast?_ (Do you smell it? The scent of fear?)" Azog finally spoke. The rough language and the evil voice chilled Thorin to the bone. Nina racked her brain in fear. Azog never lived to be in the book, so how would this end here and now? "_Ganzilig-i unarug obod nauzdanish, Torin undag Train. _(I remember your father reeked of it, Thorin son of Thrain.)"

"It cannot be." Thorin's voice broke with anguish, the mentioning of his father causing pain and grief. Azog only smiled.

"_Kod, Toragid biriz. _(That one is mine)." Azog pointed ominously at Thorin with his mace-hand. "_Worori-da!_" He ordered, and all could assume it was an order that they be killed. The Wargs leapt forward mercilessly and Nina gasped as she clung to Kili as the trees shook relentlessly.

"Jump!" Kili ordered as their tree began to plummet. She swung to the next branch with her free hand and they gained their bearings on the new tree. They were forced to do this tree-hopping twice more before Nina was breathing heavy and turned to Kili.

"We can't keep doing this." She reasoned. He nodded.

"You're right. And this is the last tree. There's no more to jump to." He explained, his voice more serious than she had ever heard it before. She nodded solemnly.

"Fili!" Gandalf shouted as he tossed down pinecones. Everyone looked at Gandalf puzzled, but Nina was too busy keeping her balance. Using his staff, Gandalf lit the cones on fire and the dwarves caught on. They started chucking the flaming pinecones down onto or near the Wargs, creating a protective fire wall around them as they all now huddled in one tree.

"Mister Gandalf!" Dori shouted in fear as he and Ori hung precariously from a branch, facing down the cliffs below. While the others were distracted with Dori and Ori, Thorin stood slowly. He knew what had to be done.

"Face me." He spoke, his voice covered by the roaring flames around him. He walked toward Azog and his Warg, picking up an oaken branch as a shield. It brought back bitter memories of the battle where Azog was supposed to have died. His walk turned into a jog, and then a full out sprint as he charged the Orc.

"NO!" Balin cried, and Dwalin struggled to try to reach Thorin but in the end was forced to stay on his safe branch.

Azog leaned forward menacingly on his Warg like a cat ready to pounce, and the white Warg leapt into the air and crashed down on Thorin, knocking him from his feet. Before Thorin could retaliate, the Warg knocked his sword from his hand and pushed him back the ground. Thorin looked up to see the Warg stretch open its powerful jaws and clamp down on him. The teeth sunk into his flesh like thousands of daggers, and Thorin's blood-curdling cry in pain only caused the company to scream for him more. Azog laughed heartily, letting his Warg fling Thorin to the ground like a rag doll.

"_Biriz torag khobdudol. _(Bring me the dwarf's head.)" Azog ordered soberly. Thorin was too weak to protest as another Orc strode over to him and raised his sword.

Nina panicked. She racked her brain for something to do, after all she _was _supposed to be the next protector of Middle Earth if all of this was real. She closed her eyes, letting go of Kili's hand. He didn't notice of course, he was far more concerned with his uncle dying before his eyes. A tear dropped from Nina's face and she was surprised to see that it had fallen because of Thorin dying. She took a deep breath. _This is not how it ends, he lives longer than this. He will live to see that mountain one last time._

A flash of bright, blinding light.

Following the light was a wave of sheer power, power that knocked every Orc and Warg to the ground, including Azog. The light had extinguished the fire wall, and Nina focused further as she stretched her hands out. As she focused harder, she felt the warmth of fire again as she created the wall again. Thorin fell unconscious. Gandalf had called the eagles while Thorin had been fighting, and now they came. Nina wasn't done. She jumped down from the tree with her hands thrust out. Azog watched her closely, no longer concerned with Thorin. With just the wave of a hand, another, though smaller, light came through and knocked the Orcs back to the ground again. Eagles were picking up the dwarves behind her, and as she stood there she heard Thorin being picked up by an eagle. Azog roared in anger and she could tell he had turned to her. She glared.

"Today, Thorin Oakenshield lives." Was all she could say before an eagle snatched her up. With a gasp, Nina clutched its feathers and hung on. She exhaled with relief. She had done it, she had set the story straight again. Or at least as good as she could get it for now.

* * *

"What are you waiting for, this is the time to get her!" Madison exclaimed, smacking Erich's shoulder. He sighed exasperatedly as they watched the scene unfold from behind a boulder. Azog and a band of Orcs had chased Thorin's company right up to a cliff-face, and Nina was beginning to step down from her tree. He smiled a little, having an idea of what she was about to do.

"Watch." He said simply, jerking his head in her direction. Madison watched as a blinding light carried through the scene, knocking all of the Orcs and Wargs to the ground. She thought that she was imagining things. As she looked over to see how Erich had reacted, she saw that he was only smiling with an emotion she hadn't seen him use before—pride.

Madison looked back at the scene to see her sister drop from a tree. With a wave of her hand, another light came and fire erupted from nowhere. Madison couldn't believe what she was seeing. Then, just as she was thinking that she had seen it all, giant eagles came rescued the company and Nina. Madison could hardly breathe.

"Did you—did you see that?"

"I did," Erich replied, the proud smile still plastered on his handsome face. "So you must know that your sister had a lot of courage to use her powers like that. Naturally then, her confidence is very high right now, and I doubt she would listen to us and come back. She thinks too fondly of the dwarves now, we must wait until they have spent a little more time together, to let her really see the dwarves as they truly are."

"Nina has powers?" Madison peeped. Erich nodded.

"Do you remember how I told you there was an Elf lying to her? The Elf made Nina believe that she is her mother, and she must have given Nina powers to convince her. But the Elf only wants to use Nina to destroy Middle Earth, we have to save your sister. So we must wait until the perfect time."

"I see." Madison nodded dumbly. Erich set a hand to her shoulder reassuringly. "I'm glad your…boss, or whatever you call people here was able to transport us here in time to catch up with them. I didn't really want to climb all of those mountains." This caused Erich to laugh with her.

"Yeah, well I am too. Don't think I would've carried you."

* * *

The eagles soared through the clouds and Nina closed her eyes letting the sunlight and wind warm her face. She couldn't smile however, not with everyone shouting Thorin's name and praying for a reply. She had been able to save him from being beheaded, but she may not have saved him from death by his injuries. Nina kept telling herself that she only cared about him because she wanted to stick to the book and needed him to live, but she still couldn't shake the feeling that maybe it mattered to her if the dwarf king lived.

"Thorin!" Gandalf half-jogged to his limp body with concern as the company was dropped off onto a large rock. Nina heard the others saying it looked like a bear.

"He has to make it…" Nina was startled when she felt Fili and Kili's presence next to her. Her heart nearly broke at the sound of such anguish in Fili's voice as he said the words.

"I can possibly heal him," Gandalf informed the others. "But his wounds are very serious. I am not sure if I can." They nodded, and Nina bit her lip.

"Would I be able to heal him, you think?" She moved forward toward Gandalf and Thorin carefully. She couldn't see it, but Gandalf gave her a sad smile.

"I wish that you could my dear, but saving us back there has drained your power. You must let yourself rest before using it again." He reasoned and Nina nodded. Gandalf brushed his hands over Thorin's eyes, using powers of his own. It was silent.

Nina breathed a sigh of relief as she heard Thorin's raspy, weak voice.

"The Halfling?"

"It's alright, Bilbo is here. He's quite safe."

Kili rushed to his Uncle's side to help him up, and quickly gave him room once Thorin was on his own two feet. Thorin turned to Nina.

"I saw what you did briefly before I lost consciousness." He said gruffly. Nina gulped nervously. "I am in debt to you, Nina. I have never taken you seriously in this company and now I know I was wrong. Forgive me?"

"Of course Thorin," Nina chuckled, shocked at his display. "I would've done it again." He gave a small smile and squeezed her shoulder kindly before turning to Bilbo, his face darkening.

"You!" He barked at him, causing everyone—including Bilbo—to jump. "I saw you jump out in front of me and face that Orc. What were you doing? You nearly got yourself killed! Did I not say that you would be a burden? That you would not survive in the wild and that you had no place amongst us?" He roared, and Bilbo shook with fear. The others dared not speak, and Nina felt worried for the hobbit.

Then he shocked them all.

"I've never been so wrong in all of my life!" He exclaimed as he embraced Bilbo in one of the tightest hugs ever. "I am sorry I doubted you." The whole company, and Nina, were smiling broadly at this.

"No, I would have doubted me too." Bilbo chuckled once Thorin had released him, sounding flustered from the unexpected embrace. "I'm not a hero or a warrior…not even a burglar." They all laughed at that. Bilbo looked out into the distance to find something that nearly took his breath away.

"Is that what I think it is?" He peeped breathlessly.

"What is it?" Nina asked eagerly.

"Erebor—the Lonely Mountain. The last of the great dwarf kingdoms of Middle Earth." Gandalf explained. Nina smiled softly.

"Our home." Said Thorin with a wistful tone.

"A raven! The birds are returning to the mountain." Oin called to the others. Gandalf chuckled.

"That, my dear Oin, is a thrush."

"Soon I'll be walking the halls of Erebor, where my people lived. My new home." Kili commented to Nina. She smiled, though the guilt she felt nearly swallowed her up.

"You'll see it." She smiled in his direction, taking his hand and squeezing it kindly. He leaned down and whispered in her ear:

"Mahal, I wish you could see it when we get there." Nina gave him a sad smile as they listened to Bilbo.

"I do believe the worst is behind us."

And oh how wrong he was, thought Nina.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Soooo that marks the end of AUJ! Now into DOS...I'm so excited. So what do you guys think of Erich now that we've learned a little bit about him, and what about Madison? Hmmmm... anyway leave a review to tell me what you think and all that good stuff. Until next chapter! **


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"_Not all those who wander are lost." _–J.R.R. Tolkien

* * *

"To your left, Nina!" Dwalin grunted agitatedly as he swung his sword down on her again. Nina gasped as the ringing force of his blow fell on her blade. Nina blocked it sloppily and just-in-time, however she quickly recovered. Nina stood still with her knees bent and closed her eyes, exhaled, and listened for the faint whistle of Dwalin's oncoming blade. She raised Macilril and blocked it, her sword absorbing most of the force. Her arms weren't left as crippled as before, so she dared to lunge her sword at him. Dwalin's breath hitched in his throat as Macilril's tip brushed his neck and Nina had won.

"Dead." She grinned madly. Dwalin chuckled as they both sheathed their swords, covered in sweat and breathing heavily. They had been practicing for the better part of the afternoon, and Nina judged that it was getting close to dark by the temperature.

It had been four days since Azog's attack on the company, and they had been camping below the Carrrock, as Gandalf had described the bear-shaped rock, since that day. Nina had been training each day with Dwalin, mostly just trying to get to the point where she could block a blow without numbing her arms. She was also working with Fili and Ori with the skill of using her other senses without sight. She had explained to the dwarves before how she had felt when they had been running from the goblins, and Thorin had decided that she needed to be worked with.

"You could have an advantage by using your other senses, you need to learn how to heighten them." Thorin had said to her. Nina sighed, knowing she was due to work with Fili once she and Dwalin got back to camp.

"Ah, Nina, how was the training?" Fili called to her when the two approached the camp.

"Better I guess," She sighed, rubbing her shoulder gently from the soreness. Oddly enough the soreness hadn't come from her training, but rather from the use of her powers against the Orcs some days ago. She was still recovering from that, and her training helped to build her stamina.

"That's something at least." Kili joked from across the fire. She smirked in his direction.

"Watch it, someday I'll be able to beat you." She teased. Kili let out a hearty laugh at that, causing her to scrunch up her nose in mock anger at him. Fili laughed, taking Nina by the hand and leading her to their spot.

"What sense are we working on today?" Nina sighed as she situated herself on the fallen tree trunk that they had designated for this training. Fili sat himself beside her.

"We can work on your touch and feeling for a little bit," Fili explained. "But I have first watch tonight so Kili will take over for me soon."

"Okay." Nina nodded, frowning. "Is Ori not up to it today?"

"He's been wrapped up in his writing lately," Fili chuckled. "He wants to create a story out of this quest. He has such passion for it, I wouldn't want to disrupt him if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Nina smiled. "It's nice to see someone having such passion like that. I used to be like that with my art…"

"What stopped you?" Fili asked when she trailed off.

"Nothing really, I just haven't had any time to sketch anything with this quest." Nina replied. Fili nodded.

"I understand." He smiled. "Now let's get something done before my brother gets here." Nina nodded eagerly. "So, did you usually try to touch things in order to see them?"

"Sometimes, like with shapes that I needed to draw I would feel them—their texture, shape, that kind of thing."

"Well how about you try again? Use the texture to determine what the object could be used for, if it can help you against an enemy." Fili handed her a piece of fruit from someone's pack, not telling her what it was. Nina turned it over and over in her hands and ran her fingers over it with concentration.

"It's smooth and round, and soft." She concluded.

"So how can knowing this help you?"

"I could throw it at someone."

"Okay…" Fili laughed and Nina soon joined in. "I suppose you could throw an apple at someone if you needed to." Nina felt a blush creep up her neck.

"Is that what it was...?" She mumbled embarrassedly. Fili chuckled.

"Yes, yes it was." He took the apple from her and set it back in his pack. They heard a twig snap and Nina's head whipped around in its direction.

"Thorin wants you to take your watch now, it's just about dark." Kili called to them as he walked over to join the two.

"Aye, we were just discovering the many uses of an apple." Fili grinned, causing Nina to laugh.

"How will I ever live up to your example as a teacher?" Kili smirked as his brother made his way back to the camp.

"So, touching."

* * *

"You're awfully quiet today." Erich noted as he and Madison made their way through the forest. She kept walking, avoiding the brambles and thorns.

"I promise you your sister will be fine, I'll bring her home." He looked to her sincerely. "She just needs to be shown the right thing to do."

"I know, but do you think the dwarves are truly mean to her? They seemed really protective of her back there…"

"They must know of her powers that the Elf gave her…" Erich stroked his chin. "They're in on the plan. Trust me Madison they only want to hurt her."

"I don't know…"

"Madison. Do you love your sister?"

"Of course I do!" Madison turned on him, glaring.

"Then trust me, I know how to save Nina."

"Now wait just a darn minute." Madison growled. Erich cocked an eyebrow at her. "You say these cryptic things to make me stop questioning you but I think the real question that needs to be asked is how exactly you plan on saving Nina?"

"Well," Erich sighed. "That's between my master and I. You have to trust me Madison, she will be returned to you safely." He met her gaze evenly and set a hand to her shoulder.

"Don't you dare hurt her in any way while getting her back," Madison started to sniff, surprised when her eyes started welling with tears. He gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"I care about your sister more than those dwarves or anyone, except of course you, and I will get her back safe and sound." He smiled.

"Why do you care about her so much? How do you know her?" Madison furrowed her brows. Erich smiled faintly.

"She does not know me yet, but she will, and she will know that I care about her."

* * *

"So what were you working on?" Kili asked as he wandered around in his spot in front of Nina, who was sitting on her log.

"Touch apparently," Nina sighed amusedly. "But we didn't really get to do much learning before you came."

"My apologies." Kili grinned. "But Uncle wouldn't take kindly to my brother being late for his watch duty. You know how he gets…"

"Yeah I know well enough how unpleasant Thorin can get." Nina laughed, and Kili chuckled with her. "But he did take me in and he's kind to me…now, so I can't really say much."

"I suppose." Kili nodded, looking around. "The stars are beautiful tonight."

"Are they?" Nina smiled gently as she craned her face toward the sky and closed her eyes. Kili smiled sadly.

"Come on." He grabbed her hand before she could protest and started pulling her with him.

Before Nina could say a word, she was being hoisted into a nearby tree, the trunk thicker than any she'd ever felt. Kili stayed behind her and helped her as she climbed the tree, clinging to the branches blindly. She climbed up and up and up until she thought she would run out of tree to climb, but Kili kept her moving. Finally he slipped past her and pulled her up the rest of the way, and they ended up sitting in the branches at the very top of the ginormous tree. The leaves were huge, and Nina wondered how it was possible for a tree to be so tall; and she felt the breeze blowing her hair gently. She closed her eyes serenely as the cool air surrounded her and Kili and she found herself giggling at the sheer peacefulness of it all.

"I used to climb trees every day when I was a young lad," Kili chuckled softly as he leaned back on the branches carelessly. "Thorin used to always get so frustrated because I was always too afraid to come back down."

"I had a treehouse at home." Nina chimed in.

"Your family lived in a tree?" Kili asked, sounding very concerned. Nina laughed.

"No, I had a little shelter that my dad built in a tree for me to play in, and I used to go into the woods and spend hours in it." She smiled sadly, remembering her home as if it were a fantasy that had never been real. It seemed like ages ago that she had lived there with her perfectly weird family. A tear rolled down her cheek and she scrubbed it away with her hand.

"That sounds very nice," Kili said softly. He was kind enough not to mention her tear.

"Anyway," Nina sniffed, gaining her composure. "You said the stars were beautiful tonight?"

"Aye." Kili nodded, both of them craning their heads back to face the sky. "They are beautiful."

"Of all the things I've been able to see by using my other senses, I have never been able to see the stars. I can't touch them, or taste them, or hear them. I can only trust that they are here, and I can never see the stars."

Kili watched Nina carefully, gulping nervously. He watched as her blue eyes shone brightly, so bright that they could rival the stars she spoke of. Kili smiled to himself, wondering why she was so different from other elves. He knew that she wasn't truly an elf, but she was at least half-elven, and he wondered why she was so different from them. She wasn't even like most humans, though to be fair he had only met a few in his lifetime.

"That's the beauty of them though, isn't it? Even when you can't see them, you trust that they are there, lighting the path." Kili mumbled, mostly to himself. Nina smiled gently at him.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"So, how exactly did you become an artist if you can't…?"

"I can't see?" Nina cocked an eyebrow at him with a smirk. "I would touch whatever it was I wanted to see, and imagine it as best I could."

"What if you wanted to see a person?" Kili asked, his voice wavering.

"I would see them." She met his gaze and for a moment Kili could have sworn that she was looking at him. "May I?" She reached out her small hands shakily.

Kili answered her by taking her hands and guiding them slowly to his face. He let go when her palms covered each of his cheeks, her thumbs rubbing gently over his stubbly face. Her soft, warm fingers brushed over his cheeks and his chin, the feather-light touch causing his breath to catch in his throat. He had no idea why. She went over his forehead as well, and then she reached his ears and giggled.

"What?" He frowned.

"They're kind of big…" She laughed. Kili shook his head at her and laughed a little.

"Yeah whatever."

She continued her examination by going over his nose and back to his chin, and then she took a deep breath.

"Smile for me Kili." He did as she asked, and it was a genuine one. She brushed her fingers lightly over his smiling lips and she smiled. "You have a very nice smile." He chuckled. "What color are your eyes?"

"Brown, dark brown." He replied and Nina nodded.

"I'll admit you look much different than I expected, but it is still nice to know what you look like." She concluded.

"How do you do that?" Kili asked in awe. She shrugged.

"Here: close your eyes and do what I just did. You can see someone without sight, Kili." She sat still as Kili set a hands on her cheeks and allowed himself to close his eyes. He felt her soft skin and it felt smooth under his calloused hands. Kili sighed, letting himself get lost in her touch and he found himself unable to move his hands. Kili opened his eyes and saw that he was staring into her blue ones. Kili felt something. It wasn't some fleeting sensation he knew that, but it wasn't some grand feeling either. So what was it?

"Please." This was the only word he could manage to say, for some reason, before Kili leaned in and let his lips brush against hers. Nina gasped softly, but Kili only increased his pressure, though not too much. He kissed her as his confidence grew. He pulled her closer; he felt as though he couldn't get close enough to the peculiar girl. He closed his eyes and continued the kiss, trying to control himself when he felt her small hands playing with his hair. Dwarves' hair was very sensitive. He held her closer, kissing her longer than he had honestly expected he would. Too soon, Nina broke away. She let out a shaky breath, not daring to move any farther from him. Kili watched her face as fear washed over it and she pulled away.

"Help me get down please." She peeped. Kili nodded, his voice having left him.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." He mumbled once they had safely made it to the ground. Nina nodded shortly, allowing him to escort her back to camp where she laid on her bedroll and did not dare say another word to him. Kili mentally kicked himself—he was such an idiot!

Nina screamed at herself in her mind, what had she done? She knew the ending to this story, and she knew Kili wouldn't make it. She could by no means start to complicate things now…why had she allowed it? What confused her more was why it had happened in the first place? Kili certainly hadn't seemed like he felt anything for her, but then Nina could never be sure. These were dwarves after all, and she didn't know their culture too well.

"Nina Bailyn you're such an idiot." She whisper-sighed to herself before trying to sleep. She couldn't let any attachments form with these dwarves; not like that. Even if things were different and she wasn't destined to protect Middle Earth…

Kili was still destined to die.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

Heyyyyy so a little short chapter but still quite a bit happened am I right? For those of you who don't like a romantic aspect to this story, I promise you don't worry. This is not a super rushed relationship or anything as you will see in the next chapters, so don't be worried! Anyway, any theories yet as to who Erich might be? As always review and until next chapter!


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

_**All rights go to Tolkien and Peter Jackson respectively, I only own my OCs. **_

* * *

Nina hardly spoke to Kili at all the next morning, though in her defense she had no time. The company had woken to the sounds of Wargs howling and crying far too close, and Bilbo had volunteered to scout ahead. Thorin had of course protested at first, but Bilbo insisted that he would not be seen. Nina thought vaguely that there was some kind of significance to Bilbo not being seen in the book, but what it was she couldn't quite recall at that time.

"There is a house not far from here where we might…take refuge." Gandalf was informing them cautiously as Nina stood with Dwalin.

"Whose house? Are they friend or foe?" Thorin growled impatiently.

"Neither. He will help us, or he will kill us." Gandalf spoke cryptically. Nina let out a ragged gasp as she contemplated the thought of more desperate running from terrifying things.

"It'll be alright lass," Dwalin squeezed her shoulder briefly before moving to shoulder his axe.

"What choice do we have?" Thorin half-whispered as a deafening roar split the night. Gandalf gave a small huff.

"None."

Before they were able to process what was happening, the company was sprinting across the forests and the plains, Nina listening for the sounds of branches being pushed aside in front of her to help avoid getting smacked in the face. After a few minutes of running in the forest, however, the roots on the ground got to be too much and she was tripping almost every other step. The bear roared and this time was far closer than before and Nina knew she would never outrun it.

"Nina!" It was Kili's voice, screaming with an alarming amount of fear in it. She had fallen flat on her face, and Nina felt hot sticky breath above her. She froze, unable to move as she felt the beast looming over her. "Nina!" Kili shouted again, though this time it sounded like someone was holding him back. This felt like odd behavior coming from him, but Nina reasoned she had far more important things to worry about at the moment—for instance a giant terrifying bear.

"Ok, so I know you probably can't understand me, but we mean you no harm I promise. Please, _please _don't eat me…" She spoke rapidly as Nina somehow found the strength to stand up. The hot breath blew straight on her face, causing her to resist the urge to vomit at the stench of it. Nina gulped as a voice came into her head that made her nearly fall over again.

_Do not be afraid, Iellig, I am with you. _It was Galadriel Nina knew, and she gritted her teeth in shaky determination.

"Please don't hurt me." Nina whispered to the beast as she stretched out her hand. The breath could have scorched her skin, and she felt the beast sniff her hand warily. "Apparently I'm the next protector of Middle Earth, so something tells me things wouldn't go well if I died now." She let out a mirthless chuckle when the beast continued to sniff.

"Nina, what are you _doing_?" Kili growled as he started toward her cautiously. The other dwarves shouted for him to come back, especially Fili who started running for his brother, and all of the commotion caused the beast to stagger back away from Nina and snarl.

"No please, it's ok please don't hurt us!" She begged as the fear rose further within her. The beast roared deafeningly and the power of it blew her back a step. _Well I do believe now is the time to run,_ Nina thought to herself as she spun on her heel and ran toward the noise of the dwarves.

After another moment she felt heavy, lumbering stomps behind her and rapidly approaching. A scream tore from her throat as the dwarves struggled to open the doors. Someone grabbed her hand and pulled her inside the now-opened door just in time. The beast shoved its head inside, but the dwarves eventually shut him out and latched the massive wooden door. Nina was heaving exhaustedly as Bilbo helped her to sit on a pile of straw.

"Why didn't you run before?" His soft, polite voice penetrated her thoughts.

"He was listening to me," She breathed. "He was really listening to what I was saying before Kili went and got stupid." Bilbo started at her suddenly angry tone.

"Well he was only worried for you, as were we all." She could hear the kind smile in his voice and she decided to return it.

"Thank you Bilbo." He gave her an awkward chuckle before getting up to most likely talk to Gandalf.

"His name is Beorn, and he is a skin-changer." Nina listened as Gandalf explained the beast to them. "Sometimes he's a huge black bear; sometimes he's a great strong man. The bear is unpredictable, but the man can be reasoned with. However, he is not over fond of dwarves." Then it clicked. Of course, Beorn was the man living in the last stop the dwarves made before entering Mirkwood. Nina furrowed her eyebrows. Weren't they supposed to enter his home in pairs or something like that?

"Is there something wrong, my dear?" Gandalf eased himself onto the straw pile next to her. Nina sighed.

"Yeah, I've lost track of how much is wrong." She shook her head with a bitter chuckle. Gandalf sat looking down at her intently, and she interpreted his silence as an invitation to elaborate. "Azog is supposed to be long dead, this isn't how things are supposed to be with Beorn, and I'm not supposed to be here. I'm messing up _everything_!" She dropped her head into her hands.

"Now, now, Nina, you haven't messed up anything." Gandalf chuckled kindly. "You could not possibly control whether Azog the Defiler lived or died, and you most certainly cannot control Beorn. Though I must admit what you did back there with his bear form was a bit incredible." Nina shook her head.

"I'm changing everything," Nina spoke lowly. It frustrated her how she couldn't tell him about the fictional story. "How can I save Middle Earth if I don't know the ending anymore?"

"You are referring to your relation to Galadriel, then." Gandalf deadpanned. Nina looked up in shock. Had she told him and just not remembered? "Yes, yes, I knew from the moment she saw you that you were her lost daughter. Galadriel told me even after your talk with her."

"So you know what I am supposed to become?"

"Nina my dear girl, you don't need to become anything. It is in your blood to be the protector of Middle Earth; to bring balance to the world and save it from the darkness. I believe with all of my heart that you can do that." Gandalf set a hand to hers'. She sniffed.

"But I don't know how it ends, I don't…."

"You do not need to know how this quest ends, Nina. We just have to create an ending to it ourselves." Gandalf interrupted. She looked up to where she assumed his aged face would be. He smiled down at her.

"I'm not ever going to get home, am I?" She fought back hot tears. Gandalf sighed.

"Nina…" He needed to say no more. She let out a choked sob and Gandalf slowly pulled her in like a father would and let her cry into his robes. All of this time, Nina had that small notion that she would somehow get home. Now, it was gone.

"In a way I guess I always knew that," She voiced her thoughts as she pulled away from Gandalf gently and wiped her eyes. "I just couldn't face it."

"Can you now?" He asked gently. Nina let out a shaky breath.

"They're my family, Gandalf. I'll never be able to feel better about being away from them."

* * *

"Ah, Bilbo Baggins. How are you holding up?" Gandalf called merrily over to the hobbit. It was early the next morning, and Bilbo was startled to see that anyone else was up.

"As good as can be expected, I suppose." Bilbo swung his arms by his sides awkwardly. "We've had quite the week."

"Indeed we have," Gandalf leaned back in the hay and lit his pipe. Bilbo came and sat beside the old wizard, getting out his own pipe.

"Can I ask something concerning Nina?" Bilbo suddenly asked after a moment of peaceful silence between the two.

"As long as it does not require me to pry." Gandalf warned lightly. Bilbo nodded.

"Of course. But why do the dwarves have to help her with her senses? Hasn't she been using them all of her life?"

"Ah that is a good question Bilbo." Gandalf nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose it is because she has been allowing herself to rely too much on this company since she came with us, and now they need to help her build her confidence in her abilities again. It has been some months of relying on them, to be fair."

"I see." Bilbo nodded with a frown. Gandalf watched him carefully and realized that Bilbo had more to say. "Gandalf, her powers…is she really entirely alright?"

"Why of course my dear Bilbo, Nina's powers are a gift to her." Gandalf replied with a slightly confused frown. "Our Kili might very well be dead if not for these powers."

"Why does she have them?"

"Now that, Bilbo, would require me to pry." Gandalf smirked. Bilbo nodded. "Give it time, and she will tell all of you how she has come to be the way she is."

"And what way is that?" The tired voice of Nina cut in. Both men looked up to see her standing a few feet away, a hand poised on the doorknob leading outside.

"Yes, well, I believe I should wake the others." Gandalf chuckled awkwardly before leaving Bilbo to deal with the girl. Bilbo sighed as Nina simply nodded and opened the door to leave the barn-like house.

When she set foot outside Nina let go a tight smile as the warm sunlight bathed her. She stepped cautiously out into the soft grass, keeping her arms out slightly to balance herself. She found herself by a small stream after a minute of wandering, and sat down on a cold stone bench beside it.

"You are the girl from before." A strong and deep voice cut through the silence. Nina snapped her head up to attention at the voice turning her head this way and that trying to find its source. "What is the matter with you, can you not see?"

"No I can't." Nina snapped impatiently. "So who are you?"

"I am the man whose house you and your friends seem to have made their own." He growled. Nina gulped nervously, remembering the massive bear from the day before.

"Beorn," She mumbled under her breath.

"How do you know my name?"

"One of my friends knows you already, and trust me we don't mean to intrude or cause you any harm." Nina decided to say politely, not entirely sure how the whole man-bear changing worked. Beorn nodded and began to move past her before stopping.

"When you confronted me yesterday," He paused, allowing them both to recall the event. "You called yourself the next protector of Middle Earth. Is this true?" Nina could feel her eyes starting to water as she thought of what Gandalf said about her never seeing her family because of her fate in Middle Earth. She let go a long sigh before giving a small nod.

"Yes, it's true."

"I see." Beorn began to move again, his massive footsteps shaking the ground even as a man. "Well then you have much ahead of you, for this world needs more saving than it does protecting." With that, Beorn left her to her solitude and Nina bit her lip. He had a point.

Orcs were running freely about Middle Earth, there was an evil dragon ruling a mountain, and she knew there was some evil eye thing that would be coming based on what her dad had mentioned during one of his fangirl moments. Nina huffed in frustration. Beorn was right; this world needed a savior before anything could be protected.

* * *

"So you are the one they call Oakenshield. Tell me, why is Azog the Defiler hunting you?" Beorn grunted as he poured milk for the dwarves and wizard sitting uncomfortably at his table. Thorin shot up at the mention of the pale Orc.

"You know of Azog? How?"

"My people were the first to live in the mountains, before the Orcs came down from the north. The Defiler killed most of my family, but some he enslaved." Beorn sighed, his tone growing bitter at the memory. Bilbo eyed Beorn's wrist, seeing the remains of what looked like old shackles. "Not for work, you understand, but for sport. Caging skin-changers and torturing them seemed to amuse him."

"There are others like you?" Bilbo peeped, his curiosity overcoming his shyness. Beorn let go a small sad smile.

"Once, there were many. Now, there is only one." The company hung their heads in silence as they thought of how awful Beorn's story was. "You need to reach the mountain before the last days of autumn?"

"Before Durin's Day falls, yes." Gandalf spoke up before Thorin could say something slightly rude.

"You are running out of time…"

"Which is why we must go through Mirkwood." The dwarves all shifted awkwardly at the mention of the wood elves. Beorn raised his giant eyebrows. "We will take the Elven Road, that path is still safe."

"Safe?" Beorn scoffed. "The wood elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin. They're less wise and more dangerous. But it matters not."

"What do you mean?" Thorin growled.

"These lands are crawling with Orcs. Their numbers are growing, and you are on foot. You will never reach the forest alive." Beorn admitted bluntly as Thorin glared expectantly. "I don't like dwarves. They're greedy and blind, blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own."

"Well?" Thorin spat. Beorn let go an imperceptible grin.

"But Orcs I hate more. What do you need?"

"We will need horses, since you have made it clear that we cannot survive on foot. Food and supplies would be much appreciated as well." Thorin explained. As he and Beorn discussed the matter of supplies further, Kili looked around. Where was Nina? He knew he shouldn't worry over her, but he couldn't help but want to talk to her after everything that had happened in the past two days. He waited until the dwarves were all talking amongst themselves contentedly before slipping outside unnoticed.

He looked around for the girl, before he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. It was Nina's legs swinging as she sat on a bench by a running stream, and he couldn't help but a let go a little smile at her childish posture.

"You missed breakfast." He called as he got closer. Kili didn't miss as her body visibly tensed up as he tentatively sat beside her.

"I guess I wasn't that hungry." She replied with a shrug. Kili sighed.

"Why did you stay when Beorn almost killed you yesterday?" He blurted out, causing Nina to look at him mildly surprised.

"He didn't though, did he? I was getting through to him before you showed up trying to do who knows what." Nina mumbled. Kili resisted the urge to glare at her.

"I was _trying _to save your life!" He replied incredulously. "You were just too stubborn to realize it."

"Well excuse me for trying to take care of myself like all of you keep telling me to!" Nina turned to face him, the anger showing in her blue eyes.

"There is a difference between taking care of yourself and being reckless, Nina." Kili warned sternly. She folded her arms over her chest like a pouting a child and glared at him.

"Why are you suddenly so worried about me anyway? I know you helped me a lot before and I'm very grateful for it, but ever since…"

"Ever since I kissed you?" He finished in a softer tone. Nina nodded. Kili felt the anger start to rise slowly in him. "I'm sorry I didn't give any warning and it was sudden, but I know there had to be a reason for it,"

"Well it can't happen again, Kili. I have a life back home, a family, and apparently I have a bit to do here as well but that's a long story. Either way, this," She gestured wildly at the two of them. "Can_not _happen."

"Why not? What do you mean you have a lot to do here?" Kili frowned.

"It's a long story, Kili."

"I want to hear it."

"Why are you so stubborn?"

"Look who's talking."

"_Fine._" She gritted her teeth. "Remember when Galadriel spoke to me when we were in Rivendell after I healed you? Well she decided that that was a great time to drop a bomb on me that I'm her daughter and you all know about that, but she also dropped another bomb. I told Dwalin, but not the rest of you. I am supposed to be the next protector of Middle Earth after Galadriel." She waited for what seemed like an eternity before Kili finally spoke.

"Oh."

"Oh? That's some big news and all I get is oh?"

"It's quite a bit to process, Nina." Kili reminded her. "So…whatever it is Galadriel does now will be you in the future?"

"I guess so, she didn't give me very much detail."

"Nina, you know that this means you're never going back to your world to your family." Kili told her softly. Nina shook her head firmly.

"I know, but I still have them and love them. Middle Earth cannot take that from me." She fought back the tears that welled up in her eyes.

"But you have a family here, in us." Kili squeezed her hand. Nina gently pulled her hand away and Kili's face fell.

"No, Kili, I can't…I'm sorry. I don't know why you kissed me, but I wish you hadn't because you can't. That can't happen, this can't happen." She sighed determined, trying to sound forceful enough without hurting his feelings. Kili scowled at her.

"I don't understand why I did it either, clearly there was no reason." He spat. "After everything we've done for you, Nina, you _still _can't understand that we care for you and that we don't particularly love it when you act recklessly. No matter what has happened between us, can't you see that your reckless and thoughtless actions yesterday worried everyone? We were all shaken, we thought we had lost you. And if we had, it would've been our fault. So think of that next time." With that, Kili stood and moved to leave. Nina felt so angry at him, and before she could stop herself she stood up too.

"You know what? Everything is about me being reckless; well what about you being too careful? If you're becoming too attached to me Kili, then leave me alone! If I can't try to reason with Beorn without you rushing in and ruining it trying to protect me, then don't protect me at all!" She screamed. Kili was taken aback, unable to speak. He glared at her darkly, shaking his head.

"You selfish girl!" He spat before storming off. Nina had no further chance to say anything as he left. She groaned and threw her hands in the air, scrubbing away the tears that had managed to fall from her eyes.

* * *

Later that afternoon, the company saddled up the ponies that Beorn had supplied them and mounted. There were only so many ponies that Beorn could spare them, so Nina let Bilbo take one to himself and she rode with Dwalin. As Gandalf spoke secretively with Beorn, Dwalin turned to her suspiciously where she sat on the pony behind him.

"You seem on edge." He grunted as he adjusted the reins in his hands.

"It's fine, really." Nina huffed. Dwalin raised his bushy eyebrows.

"I'm not daft, lass. You and Kili both seem to be furious, what happened?"

"Nothing happened. He just thought he had something, and I assured him that he didn't." She replied vaguely. Nina hoped that Dwalin wouldn't figure out that she meant that Kili thought he had her heart and her affections, but he didn't. She knew he couldn't, and she only wished she could tell him why.

"Go now, while you have the light. The hunters are not far behind." Beorn urged them as Gandalf mounted his horse. They sped off, Nina reaching down to feel the comforting presence of Macilril at her side.

It seemed like an eternity before the ponies finally slowed to a halt and Dwalin helped Nina down from their pony. She gave it a small pet before hoisting her pack onto her shoulder and letting Dwalin set it free like Gandalf had directed.

"No sign of the Orcs; we have luck on our side." Dwalin sighed in relief from beside her as Gandalf brought them to the Elven Gate.

"This forest feels…sick, as if a disease lies upon it. Is there no way around?" Bilbo called to Gandalf. Gandalf sighed tiredly.

"Not unless we go two hundred miles north, or twice that distance south." He reminded Bilbo. A faint air of disappointment went over the company.

Gandalf ventured a little further into the wood, noticing the many overgrown vines covering the elven statues. He felt an odd sensation, and suddenly Gandalf frowned. Something was just _wrong_. He grasped a chunk of vines from a statue and ripped them off, revealing a painted on eye of Sauron. Gandalf jumped back in panic. Nina gripped the scar on her side as it burned.

_One Ring to rule them all! _

"Nina, you alright lass?" Dwalin helped her stand straight as the burning subsided. Nina nodded.

One Ring….she mentally kicked herself for not thinking of it sooner. Riddles in the Dark…that was a chapter title. Nina remembered when she had wrote a short paper in school on when Bilbo had been in the goblin tunnels with Gollum having a battle of riddles and then he found something precious. What was so precious? The Ring! Nina gasped as it started coming back to her. Bilbo had the one Ring, and this ring had something to do with something evil, but that was in the other books and she had never read them.

"_Something moves in the shadows unseen, hidden from our sight. Every day it grows in strength. Beware the Necromancer, he is not what he seems." _Galadriel spoke telepathically to Gandalf. He nodded. "_If our enemy has returned, we must know. Go to the tombs in the mountains." _

"The High Fells…so be it." Gandalf sighed. He hurried back to the company and demanded his horse.

"You're not leaving us?" Bilbo gasped as Gandalf mounted his horse.

"I would not do this unless I had to." Gandalf replied sympathetically. As they talked a moment longer, Thorin ordered the others to start moving into the forest. "No matter what may come, stay on the path!" Gandalf ordered Thorin, who nodded in return as the last of the dwarves entered the forest and waited for their leader.

After hours of walking and turning on the path, Nina finally started to feel the effects of the forest. The others had felt it earlier of course, considering they didn't have the half-elven advantage. She stayed behind Dwalin at all times, putting a hand on his shoulder every once in a while to make sure she was still with him. She had no idea who was behind her, since all the forest air would allow her to focus on was the dwarf in front of her.

"Air, I need air!" Bofur cried from ahead, but his voice felt so foggy.

"My head it's spinning…"

"What's happening?" Nina groaned as she slammed into Dwalin's back when they all stopped.

"Keep moving, Nori. Why have we stopped?" Thorin made his way to the front. Nori shook his head vaguely.

"The path…it's disappeared!" He exclaimed. Nina's blood ran cold as she processed the words.

"No…"

"We need to stop…" She heard Kili saying vaguely from behind her.

"We need to find the path." She answered him. Kili huffed.

"Mahal, we can't agree on _anything _can we?" He growled. She shook her head weakly.

"Let's not do this right now, okay?"

"What hour is it?" Bilbo groaned from ahead.

"I do not know. I don't even know what day it is." Dwalin moaned.

"Is there no end to this accursed place?" Thorin roared, his voice echoing through the forest.

* * *

"I thought you made it clear we needed to get Nina _before _they went into Mirkwood." Madison frowned as she and Erich made their way through the forest. He sighed.

"We did, but that beast was watching them constantly. We would have all been ripped to shreds." Erich reasoned.

"You know, in the book in my world Beorn is a good guy."

"That's all a matter of perspective." He grunted as he pushed another Mirkwood vine out of their way.

"So why aren't we going crazy from the forest like everyone else?"

"You have a lot of questions, don't you?" He replied sarcastically. Madison laughed a little. "We aren't affected because my master is protecting our minds from it."

"He seems like a nice guy."

"He is powerful and good, yes."

"So—"

"Silence!" Erich lunged at Madison and covered her mouth with his hand as she looked at him with wide eyes. "There they are…" He whispered. Madison looked over to see a bunch of wobbly dwarves and her sister lined up in a row arguing. She couldn't help but smile when she saw Nina.

"How are we going to do this?"

"With tact, so let me start the talking." Erich gave her a pointed look. They both slowly emerged from the path and stepped into the view of the company, who froze when they saw them.

"Who are you?" Dwalin growled, brandishing his axe. Erich held his hands up.

"We are simply here to speak with one of your companions, Miss Bailyn." He answered gently. "We mean no harm to any of you."

"What do you want with me?" Nina asked skeptically, staying where she was next to Dwalin. Erich nodded to Madison.

"Nina, it's me, I'm here to take you home." Madison spoke shakily. Nina froze, shaking her head.

"No….this is some twisted illusion you can't be here!"

"I'm real, I promise, see?" Madison stepped forward and grasped Nina's hands, setting them on her face. "It's me, your big sister." She started to choke up. Nina let out a choked sob as she ran her hands over every part of her sister's face.

"I thought I'd never see you again!" She cried as Madison hugged her tightly. "How are you here?"

"That would be my doing," Erich said, stepping forward. "We want to take you home, Nina."

"Who are you?" She croaked as Madison released her.

"I'm Erich Arvandor. You don't know me yet, but we will become good friends." He smiled warmly.

"And you think we are just going to let you take her without even giving us a say?" Dwalin growled, stepping forward.

"It is Nina's choice, is it not?" Erich replied sternly. "Your family loves you, Nina, and they want you to come home."

"They might not be real, Nina, don't go." Kili rushed over to her, whispering in her ear. Nina turned to him.

"I thought we agreed you'd stop protecting me? This is my _sister_ Kili, she will never hurt me." She responded. Kili shook his head in disbelief.

"Madison I think I need to stay here, only a little longer." Nina turned to her sister. Madison's eyes went wide. "They took me in, I have to help them I promised."

"Nina, we miss you and this is dangerous, you could die!"

"But I promised, Madison. And you can stay too and then we can go home together to dad!"

"I'm afraid that can't happen." Erich butted in. "Nina you are coming with us, and this company I fear cannot make it past this forest."

"What?" Madison turned to Erich. "But you said—"

"Master's orders." He grinned. Suddenly there were massive spiders upon them, and the dwarves all drew their weapons.

"Spiders and flies…" Nina gasped as she remembered the chapter title.

"Let's go!" Erich yelled over the commotion.

"They'll die!" Nina argued, attempting to draw her sword.

"As they are meant to, I assure you!" He replied before grabbing both girls. Nina panicked as wind picked up around her and she could tell that somehow she was about to leave the dwarves. Despite herself she screamed for Kili, and the last thing she heard was him desperately screaming out her name in reply.

* * *

**SO that got intense. Sorry for the late update, life got in the way but I'm back and with a kind of long chapter so there ya go. Anyway, dont forget to review and let me know what you all think will happen next for everyone...**

**IMPORTANT: from here on out lots of plot stuff will be changed, so if that bothers any of you sorry but its a fanfiction... so yeah just thought I'd warn you I think the changes will be good tho :P **


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

_**All rights go to Tolkien and Peter Jackson respectively, I only own my OCs. **_

* * *

The voices were muffled, everything seeming hazy.

"You were supposed to help me bring her _home_, Erick!"

"I have brought her home, to the home she belongs in."

"You lied to me!" Screaming. That sounded like Madison.

"I told you what I needed to, but I never lied about one thing: I have brought her home and she will be safe." That voice was unfamiliar. Nina sighed, trying to make sense of the screaming around her. She rubbed her hands on the floor she was slumped against, finding only cold and unwelcoming stone beneath her.

Nina grimaced before deciding to open her eyes, her head throbbing indescribably. That was a mistake. She gasped as everything went white around her and her head pounded more. She squinted and tried to focus on something, her blue eyes landing on a man arguing with someone. Nina saw him. Then she screamed.

"Nina! Oh my god, Nina what's wrong?" Madison rushed to her side, and Nina breathed heavily and quickly as she looked up at her sister. Tears began to stream down her face as she let out a choked sob.

"You're so beautiful Madison, just like Dad always says." She sobbed, Madison letting out a small noise of surprise as her eyes also teared up.

"How….how would you know what I looked like?" Madison peeped.

"It worked," The man from before came to them, his expression one of wonder and amazement.

"How can I…why can I see?" Nina breathed as she struggled to focus on one thing. Her eyes felt so strange, the stone room so dimly lit by candles. She decided to focus on the flame of the candle, mesmerized by how it moved. That was one thing she could never paint—movement. Now she could see it.

"My master, he healed you." The man smiled warmly. Nina kept looking at the fire, fearing that the intricate detail of someone's face might be too much. "I am Erick Arvandor, I have brought you home Nina."

"This…this is my home?" Nina asked hesitantly, finally able to meet his gaze.

"No, this is not at all your home. We're still in Middle Earth, Nina." Madison cut in with a stern tone directed at Erick. He sighed exasperatedly.

"This is her new home, I am afraid she will be staying." Madison shook her head rapidly.

"No! She is my sister and she is coming with me." Madison stood defiantly. Erick stood as well, towering over the girl.

"You are not in authority here, Miss Bailyn." He replied with a dark look that made Madison's confidence waver. "My master requires Nina to remain here, and I must apologize for having used you, but Nina never would have agreed to come without you."

"How could you…" She glared at him.

"Because I had to. Now, your part has been played, Madison. You are of no further use for us."

* * *

"Mithrandir." Galadriel descended the staircase more urgently than usual, and Gandalf looked at her questioningly.

"You sent me to the High Fells, so why is it I have come back to the valley of Imladris?" He inquired. Galadriel had telepathically begged Gandalf to come to Rivendell instead.

"I have sent the Wizard Radagast to inspect the tombs in the mountain; you are needed far more here." She explained, ushering him up to the terrace. "Something has happened to the dwarven company."

"Thorin?" Gandalf asked incredulously.

"My daughter…Nina has been taken, though how anyone has managed to hide her I do not know. I cannot find her, and when I try to reach out to her I do not feel her presence as I have before." Galadriel fought back small tears in her eyes.

"You do not think that Nina is…"

"No, I am certain she is still alive. As the next protector of our world her death would be known to me." She replied before Gandalf could say the words.

"How can I assist you, my lady?" He took her hand gently.

"We have to find her, before it is too late. I warned her before she left this place that her powers could be manipulated for evil, and that she could destroy this world if put into the wrong hands." Galadriel paused. "My greatest fears are becoming a reality."

"Do not fear, my lady. I will find the dwarves and perhaps they can give me some information as to who her captor was. They are surely still in Mirkwood, especially if they were attacked. I must get back to them before it is too late and they are hurt themselves."

"I am afraid I cannot get you to Mirkwood as fast as you need, but I can have you escorted immediately as far as the High Fells. Meet with Radagast there, and learn what you can of the Necromancer. From there I am afraid you must find the dwarves on your own." Galadriel explained as they made their way to the main gates.

"You have done what you can my lady and for that I am grateful. Nina will be found, and no matter what has happened to her we can keep her in the light." Gandalf sighed, taking Galadriel's hands. "Have faith in your daughter, Lady Galadriel. She is stronger than she knows."

Galadriel only bowed her head and nodded, not letting Gandalf see the tears forming in her eyes. He mounted his horse swiftly and made for the guard house, intending to inform them of their new escort job.

* * *

"Nina, do you know where you are?" Nina gritted her teeth as she heard the all too familiar voice of Erick.

"I'm in a crappy excuse for an evil lair."

_Smack!_

She turned her head swiftly, her right cheek absorbing the pain of the whip. She felt a long line of blood trickle down from her eyebrow to halfway down her cheek. She glared at him.

"You are in the dungeon in Dol Guldur, your new home." Erick spat. Nina closed her eyes and reopened them, trying to block him out. She knew that he was trying to convince her to believe that she served his master, but Nina resisted. However she had to admit that after a whole week of this questioning, she found herself less and less adamant about resisting, and more and more tired of fighting.

"Repeat it!" He bellowed. Nina was startled out of her thinking.

"I am Dol Guldur, my home." She repeated tiredly. Erick nodded with approval. She took note of how his dark eyebrows never un-furrowed, and his sharp, dark features never seemed to change. The scruff on his neck and chin actually helped his physical appearance, and his deep green eyes would have been captivating in different circumstances. It was his muscles, or lack thereof, that captivated her the most.

Nina had seen this man lift many a large stone to "tidy up" the dungeon and yet he still struck her as being on the leaner side. Then again, she had to remind herself that she had never _seen _muscles. The only recollection she had of them was how Dwalin felt to her. Dwalin…..

"Focus on me, _sadril_." Erick broke her thoughts once again.

"Don't call me that." Nina growled.

"That is my endearing name for you, and it is true. _Sadril _means 'loyal one' in the language of your mother."

"I am not loyal to you, or your master."

_Smack! _

"You will be, _sadril, _you will be."

* * *

**Author's Note**

**I am sooo sorry for the extremely late update, but to be honest writers' block hit and it sucked. Anywho, I hope you guys love this chapter and don't forget to review and let me know what you think...**

**By the way any ideas on what happened to Madison?**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

_**All rights go to Tolkien and Peter Jackson respectively, I only own my OCs. **_

* * *

"I think we were supposed to turn here," Nori mumbled. Thorin let go a heavy sigh, wondering just where exactly they had lost the path.

"Well do you see the path there?" He questioned exasperatedly. Nori hung his head and shrugged.

"Uncle, look!" Fili pointed excitedly. "A white stag." Everyone in the company strained their eyes to see, their efforts driven by desperate hunger.

"I got it." Kili tiredly pulled out his bow and nocked an arrow, trying to aim through his fuzzy vision. He let the arrow fly, and it sailed in the direction of the stag and straight into a tree. "How did I miss…?"

"Where did it go?" Ori peeped. They all squinted to see that their stag had vanished.

"It's this forest playing tricks on us, lads." Balin explained after a silence. "I fear that the stag may not have ever existed but in our minds."

Not long after the hunting attempt, the company continued trudging along. Thorin had all but given up on trying to find the path, and the others didn't have the mental strength to look for it anyway. They travelled on for what felt like days, and most of them were near silent.

"Look!" Dori called, holding up a tobacco pouch in their way.

"It is from dwarves; dwarves from the Blue Mountains, no less. This is exactly the same as mine!" Bofur exclaimed. Bilbo watched the exchange and rolled his eyes.

"That's because it _is _yours. Don't you understand? We're going around in circles, we're lost."

"We keep heading east." Dwalin argued gruffly. Ever since Nina had been taken from the group, Dwalin had been silent. They all gave him looks of mild surprise before continuing.

"But which way is east? We've lost the sun!" Oin replied. It wasn't long before all of the dwarves were arguing in this way, and Bilbo tried to block them out and think.

_The sun. _

_We have to find the sun. _

"Up there, we need to find the sun!" Bilbo exclaimed to the others. Of course, no one was listening. Bilbo started to climb a tree, eager to find the sun and end the quarreling of the dwarves. Little did he know, down below him disaster was about to strike.

Whispering.

"What's that?" Thorin peered out into the dark forest.

Whispering.

"Silence!" He bellowed. The dwarves complied.

"We are being watched."

* * *

"What's on today's schedule?" Nina groaned sarcastically as the bright light flooded into her cell as Erick swung open the door.

"Today you will be meeting our master, sadril." He replied, ignoring her disrespectful tone. Nina tried her hardest to hide her fear. From how much Erick seemed to worship this master, and how much of a bad feeling she got from him, she didn't particularly want to meet him.

"Must I?" She retorted, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. The last thing she wanted was for him to sense her fear. He grinned.

"You must. And I assure you, your fear of him does you well. Perhaps it will save your life in his presence."

"What makes you say I am afraid?" Nina gulped.

"I have watched you grow up in your old world, and I have seen the way you acted with the dwarves. I know you, sadril." Erick explained, and for once she thought that he was being sincere.

"Will you be there when I meet him?" She ignored his comment.

"Of course."

"Fine."

"Let's go."

Nina certainly did not trust him, however he was the only familiar face she had in Dol Guldur, and for some reason she would have preferred to have him there when she met the master. She shuddered at the thought of _ever _trusting or being partners with Erick Arvandor.

They passed too many Orcs for Nina's taste, and they scared her out of her mind. She thought to herself how she'd have much rather been blind as they made their way past the legions of Orcs. She was shocked speechless to see the sheer numbers of the Orcs, and couldn't remember for the life of her how this would affect the dwarves. One thing was certain, if she managed to escape Dol Guldur she would try to find the dwarves and tell them of this.

"We are here." Erick tore her from her thoughts as they walked through a small ruined archway. She looked around, and tried to ignore how high up they were. Their stone ledge stretched out to the center of the room and then abruptly ended. She peered into the darkness.

"Where is he?" Nina whispered to him. Right as she uttered the words, a huge black cloud appeared and flew through them and all around them.

"Daughter of the Lady of Light," The cloud spat. Nina was shocked, to say the least. "You have finally come to my fortress."

"What do you want from me?" Nina glared defiantly, only earning a smack on the shoulder from Erick as he shook his head at her.

"So ungrateful you are to the one who has restored your sight to you, my lady." The master hissed.

"I didn't ask you to do that, and I don't want to be indebted to you in any way." Nina clarified. "If I have to be blind to be free from this place, then so be it."

"You do not understand, do you my lady?" The master replied. "You have no choice. You shall become my Lady of Darkness, my servant."

"I'll never serve you!" She screamed out, the fear within her building.

"We shall see."

There was a blinding light, and a great force blew Nina back as she slammed into Erick. He held her steady as she struggled to free herself. The cloud gathered itself on the edge of their stone ledge and Nina watched in horror as it morphed into a person—a person in flames. They walked toward her, never ending as the image of the man kept reappearing. Nina felt herself on the brink of insanity.

"STOP!" She cried in complete and utter terror. Then the worst of it came as Nina felt her memories slipping away. She fought to keep them with all of her strength.

"_You are the servant of all that terrifies this world, the bringer of calamity, the destroyer of worlds, the Lady of Darkness." _

Nina wracked her brain to try to block out the incessant chanting of those words. She reached into her memories and held tight to her father, her sister, her home, her friends, her art, Gandalf, Galadriel, and Middle Earth.

_You are the servant_

Thorin, Balin and Dwalin

_Of all that terrifies this world_

Dori, Nori, and Ori

_The bringer of calamity_

Gloin, Oin, Bifur, Bofur and Bombur

_The destroyer of worlds_

Bilbo and Fili

_The Lady of Darkness_

Kili.

There was deafening silence after that, where the image of the man turned into a flaming eye and then vanished. Erick slowly helped Nina to her feet and watched warily as her heavy breathing gradually subsided and she stood more evenly.

"Sadril?" Erick tested. Nina looked to him immediately. Erick nodded and straightened himself. "The wishes of our master are to gain control of the east, gaining the territory of Erebor. It will open up our reach to all that lies beyond it, and will give us more power to conquer the west. Your task is to gain control of Erebor, and to stop Thorin Oakenshield from reaching that mountain."

"Yes my commander." She replied. Her blue eyes looked so empty, so vacant, even Erick could see it. He grinned.

"You must kill the dwarves, and anyone that gets in our way." She nodded her agreement. Erick turned to leave the chamber, his new soldier in step behind him.

"Then the hunt begins."

* * *

"Radagast the Brown, it is good to see you unharmed." Gandalf gave him a tight smile. Radagast looked quite distracted as he rushed over to Gandalf. Gandalf gave a nod in thanks to his elven escorts as they wheeled their horses around and galloped back for Rivendell.

"I have not seen very good things here, Gandalf." Radagast sighed. The two wizards stood in a stone cove near the bottom of the cliffs that held the tomb of the Necromancer. "Each and every tomb here has been broken into. The bars have been ripped from their hinges, and it looks as though something has escaped." Gandalf felt a cold shiver down his spine at the news.

"No, these are not good things at all indeed." He frowned. You must report this back to the Lady Galadriel, for she eagerly awaits the news from this place."

"You say this as if you are not joining me?" Radagast gave a small, confused smile at the other wizard. Gandalf sighed, setting a hand to his friend's shoulder.

"I must get back to the dwarves, they may have very important information pertaining to the whereabouts of the Necromancer." Gandalf explained. A sick feeling entered his stomach as his suspicions were confirmed. If the Necromancer had escaped from the High Fells and Nina was missing, the Necromancer had to be her captor.

"If the Necromancer has escaped, then your dwarves are doomed, Gandalf. It is not safe for you to return to them." Radagast reasoned.

"I cannot forsake my friends." Gandalf shook his head. After a moment, Radagast sighed and nodded.

"Very well. I will go to Imladris to inform Galadriel of this horrid news."

"Get to her with all speed, Radagast, we've not a moment to lose." Gandalf warned as he mounted his horse. He looked out over the view before him, seeing the beginnings of Mirkwood in the distance. He lurched forward into a full gallop toward the wood, not looking forward to journeying through it.

* * *

It didn't take long for Bilbo to decide to put on his ring. After the spiders had attacked and overtaken the dwarves, Bilbo knew he needed to not be seen. He had found the precious ring in the goblin tunnels after taking it from an…interesting creature, and he had discovered its power to turn its wearer invisible.

Bilbo listened carefully as the spiders hissed about eating the dwarves, and his stomach churned as he thought how similar this seemed to when they had all been captured by trolls. He watched in horror as one of the more vocal spiders picked up Bombur, who was cocooned in webs. Thinking quickly, Bilbo launched a rock somewhere out into the woods, and just as he had hoped, all of the spiders frantically rushed to the sound.

Except for one.

"_It stings, stings!" _The spider cried as Bilbo hacked at it with his sword.

"Sting," Bilbo repeated thoughtfully as the dead spider fell to the ground below. "That's a good name." With that, he started hurriedly cutting loose the dwarves. They all fell on top of each other, creating a tangled pile up filled with spider webs.

"Where's Bilbo?" Bofur cried.

"There he is," Fili gestured up to the faint sound of Bilbo answering. Satisfied that he would be down shortly, the dwarves quickly took up their weapons as spiders rushed at them.

"Grab a leg!" "Pull!" "Kili!"

It was frantic, but the dwarves managed to defeat the round of spiders before running to the next. A spider snatched Kili, and pulled him away from the group. He felt its grip tightening around his ankles and he let go a scream in response to his brothers'. Before any of them could go to him, elves began to descend from the treetops, vanquishing the spiders in fluid motions. Before they could react, the dwarves were surrounded.

"Do not think I won't kill you dwarf, it would be my pleasure." Snapped a younger blonde elf with an arrow aimed at Thorin. Thorin glared daggers at him.

"HELP!" Kili screeched from nearby as he was dragged further away. Even the elves looked over in shock at the unexpected cry. Kili groaned as his face was dragged through the dirt and leaves by the spider. Suddenly, the dragging ceased and Kili jumped to his feet to see a she-elf standing before him, with four dead spiders at her feet.

He had to admit, the elf was beautiful. Her long red hair seemed flawless, and her fighting skills impressed Kili greatly. It also embarrassed him that he had been overcome by one spider, and she had killed four before he could process it.

As the she elf threw Kili roughly back into the circle of dwarves, the blonde elf ordered that they all be searched. The she elf then turned to the blonde elf, who held her gaze with questioning eyes.

"_Are the spiders dead?" _He asked her in their language, Sindarin. She sighed.

"_Yes, but more will come. They are growing bolder." _She replied. He frowned, opening his mouth to reply when an elf handed him Thorin's sword. It was elvish.

"_This is an ancient elven blade, forged by my kin." _He addressed his elven clan. He then narrowed his eyes at Thorin as he examined the blade, Orcrist. "Where did you get this?"

"It was given to me."

"Not just a thief, but a liar as well." The elf growled as he pointed the sword at Thorin. "_Take them!" _As the dwarves were led back to the Woodland Realm, the she elf eyed her leader carefully.

"Legolas, _what do you think the presence of these dwarves could mean?" _She inquired uneasily, thinking back to the stories of the dwarves of Erebor she had heard as a younger elf. The blonde elf, Legolas, frowned.

"_Who can say, _Tauriel? _I would not worry over it until our king has heard of the matter." _He replied. Tauriel sighed, knowing that Legolas would say that. She valued her king very much, and of course Legolas did as well since the king was his father, however she wondered about things on her own, and did not wish to simply wait for the king's word on matters. Legolas was her closest and only friend in the Realm, and she had always wished that he would feel the same.

"_Of course," _Tauriel mumbled in reply.

"_Close the gate!" _Legolas ordered the guards as they brought their prisoners into the Realm. Before long, they had dragged the prisoners down to the dungeons and were throwing them into their cells.

"This is not the end of it!" "Let us out of here!" "Get off me!" The dwarves shouted in protest. Tauriel moved to throw her dwarf into his cell—the dwarf that she had rescued from the spiders.

"Aren't you going to search me?" He questioned innocently as he walked into the cell, turning to her with an almost unreadable expression. "I could have anything down my trousers." Tauriel cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Or nothing." She slammed the cell door shut, leaving Kili to sit there alone. As she made her way back up to Legolas, she saw many a dwarf shove at their elven guard, and watched as an elf discovered yet another knife on the blonde dwarf.

"_Why does the dwarf stare at you, Tauriel?" _Legolas called to her. She swallowed nervously, hoping that he did not mean the trouser dwarf.

"_Who can say?" _She replied neutrally. Then Tauriel grinned, wondering how she could tease Legolas. "_Although he is quite tall, for a dwarf." _Legolas' face darkened at the comment and Tauriel knew her joke had not amused him. "_Do you not think?" _She tried nervously to relieve the tension. When Legolas replied with only silence, Tauriel decided to leave the awkward situation.

"_Taller than some, but no less ugly." _Legolas called after her. Tauriel gave a small smile as she walked away. He always came around to her jokes.

* * *

Kili threw the runestone up again in the air. He could feel himself slowly dying of boredom in his cell, as he went to catch the stone again. He smirked to himself, thinking about his comment to the she-elf earlier, whose name he gathered was Tauriel. However, his smirk faded when he thought of the disapproving look he would've gotten from Nina if she had been there. Kili let out a small frustrated groan. He couldn't try to be his normal charming self with the elf when in his heart he knew that wouldn't make him forget Nina.

He would give anything to have her there with him, despite their constant arguing. He smiled sadly to himself as he realized that if she was there they would no doubt have found something to argue over. From the day he had met Nina, Kili had felt the desire to protect her and shelter her from harm. He knew his feelings for her since the night he had kissed her. He had never known, however, why she refused to give them a chance.

"The stone in your hand, what is it?" The voice of Tauriel broke his thoughts. Kili sighed, deciding that teasing her again might lift his spirits.

"It is a talisman, with a powerful curse upon it. If any but a dwarf were to read the runes on this stone, they would be forever cursed!" He exclaimed shoving the stone in her face. Tauriel gasped and moved to flee, causing Kili to feel a bit guilty. "Depending on whether or not you believe in that kind of thing, it's just a runestone." He called, causing her to come back and grin.

"My mother gave it to me so I'd remember my promise." Kili elaborated.

"What promise?"

"That I would come back to her." Tauriel looked down at her feet, almost with shame. She knew there was no telling when or if the dwarves would see daylight again out of the Woodland Realm. Sensing her guilt, Kili tried to lighten the mood. "She worries, she thinks I'm reckless."

"Are you?" Tauriel grinned. Kili moved to toss his stone again before he frowned, pausing.

"Yes." He half-whispered, surprising himself. Tauriel was caught slightly off guard by the serious answer. "I am reckless because I had something right in front of me and I took it for granted, and now it is gone."

"What did you lose?" Tauriel asked tentatively, sitting down on the steps beside his cell. Kili met her gaze solemnly, assessing whether or not to tell the elf his personal thoughts. After a moment he sighed, not seeing how it could do him any harm to tell her about Nina. After all, she was gone now.

"I had a good friend, and she was very important to me. But we got into an argument, and I didn't try to make it up to her, I just assumed that in time she would get over it and see reason." Kili explained, trying to keep the story vague.

"What happened to her?" Tauriel pressed gently.

"She was taken from me—from our company—not long after we entered Mirkwood." Kili replied shortly. He still wasn't able to bring himself to say that Nina was dead, even though he knew there couldn't be another explanation.

He thought back to when Nina was first taken, how the dwarves had stood there in shocked silence once the dust had cleared. Dwalin was the first to speak, shaking with something akin to fear.

"_We have to get her back!" Dwalin said. Balin rushed to pull him back as the large dwarf fell on the spot where Nina had been standing not a moment ago. Kili hadn't taken his eyes off that spot. _

"_We haven't the time," Thorin had reasoned, causing all of them to glare at him. "We must get to the mountain before Durin's Day, and I don't know where Nina could be now." He explained. Most had sighed, bowed their heads, and realized it wasn't Thorin's fault. How could he have a clue where the girl had been taken? _

"_That was her sister with her, I am sure she is with her family now anyway." Nori spoke up after a long silence. _

"_WE WERE HER FAMILY!" Kili finally screamed. Everyone looked to him in surprise. "We promised to protect her, keep her safe, she was part of the company!" Kili ran to his uncle's side. "Uncle please, if it was me or Fili you wouldn't hesitate." _

"_You are my sister's sons, Kili. Nina is just a girl we kept safe. We cannot follow her, we wouldn't even know where to begin. Kili, I am sorry but the girl is gone." _

"_She has a powerful mother that I am sure will find her." Balin set a hand to Kili's shoulder. Dwalin pounded a fist into the ground where Nina had stood._

"_She was just an innocent young lass." He growled menacingly. "She doesn't deserve to be taken like that, who knows what that man will do to her." _

Kili felt a surge of anger renewed in him as he thought of that moment. Ever since Dwalin's comment about that man, Kili had been able to think of hardly anything else. The thought of someone…forcing Nina to do anything made his blood boil.

"I should have tried harder to keep her safe, but I was thoughtless, reckless, and I just assumed that she would always be with us." Kili thought aloud.

Tauriel found herself surprised when her eyes teared up at the raw emotion the dwarf Kili was expressing. Elves were known to be stoic, hiding all trace of emotion in their voices, expressions, and actions. To see someone so unafraid to show his anger and shame and despair, Tauriel pitied the dwarf and whoever the girl was.

"Sounds like quite the party you're having up there." Kili sighed, trying to change the subject as he heard elves laughing above.

"It is Mereth-en-Gilith, the Feast of Starlight." Tauriel explained. "All light is sacred to the Eldar, but Wood Elves love best the light of the stars."

"I think it is a cold light, remote and far away." Kili couldn't help but reply, his liking of the stars less appealing now that he could only think of Nina when he saw them.

"It is memory, precious and pure." Tauriel stepped toward him, smiling warmly. "Like your promise." Kili smiled kindly at her as she continued her wistful gaze at the sky.

"I have walked there sometimes, beyond the forest and up into the night. I have seen the world fall away and the white light forever fill the air." She whispered longingly. Kili smiled at her, thinking with delight that she was quite different from the other strict elves.

"I saw a fire moon once."

* * *

The Orcs stood around their temporary camp, watching as their newest companion eyed the elven gates. She was a smaller, half-elven girl, dressed in all black armor and bodice. Erick, the only person with more authority than Azog, stood beside her. Bolg, Azog's son, watched them carefully. The master had ordered Azog to drop the hunt and prepare the Orc legion for war, and so Azog had charged Bolg with continuing the hunt for the dwarves. Bolg grunted as he thought of how he now had to directly take orders from two humans who were so small in comparison to him.

"The entrance is sealed, we cannot get in this way." Nina concluded as she turned to Erick. He sighed.

"You are right, sadril. But there are more than one ways into the Woodland Realm. Come."

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**So here's another chapter, thanks to those who reviewed it really helps, and please don't forget to review in the future! Sooo I feel bad for Kili now I don't know about any of you guys...until next chapter! **


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

_**All rights go to Peter Jackson and Tolkien respectively, I only own my OCs.**_

* * *

Nina watched silently as the roaring waters of the river rushed by. They were awaiting only the dwarves—thanks to her. She had watched as Bilbo examined the barrels in the cellars of the Woodland Realm, and she knew what he was up to.

"It is a good plan I must admit," Erick acknowledged as he approached her. Nina didn't bother to turn around.

"Yes, Bilbo usually gets them out of tough situations." Nina replied. She felt a faint twinge and frowned—what was wrong with her? The reaction did not go unnoticed by Erick.

"They are filthy liars; only greed and bloodshed are friends of the dwarves." He reminded her. Nina nodded, wishing to end the conversation.

"_Close the gate!" _Her thoughts were interrupted as the blonde elf barked orders and thirteen barrels charged down the river.

"Take up your positions, we will attack on my signal." Erick calmly ordered to Nina and the Orcs. They all moved to their positions. Nina stayed crouched in the brush next to Erick, concentrating on gathering her power. "I have faith in you, sadril." He whispered before turning behind him. "NOW!"

Chaos.

As the dwarves crashed into each other at the closed gate, Orcs rushed in and slaughtered the Elven guards. Bilbo looked around in horror and dead bodies—Orc and elf—plummeted into the water next to him. He almost had to question whether his sight was correct when he saw a familiar face—that man. It was the man who had taken Nina, fighting alongside the Orcs.

"Fili!" Bilbo called to him. "Is that not the man who took Nina?" Fili followed Bilbo's gaze and his face turned dark.

"I believe it is." He growled. Before Fili could do anymore, he looked up to see his brother struggling to escape his barrel. "Kili, what are you doing?"

"We're sitting ducks if we don't do something!" Kili grunted as he launched himself out of the barrel and onto the stone platform above them. He focused all of his attention on fighting off Orcs and reaching that lever. The lever would open the gate and free the dwarves, giving them a chance to survive this attack.

A flash of bright light sent Kili onto his behind. The wind was knocked out of him—but not from the light. Kili knew he must have been dreaming when he saw Nina before him, dressed in black armor and looking around with a hateful expression.

"Nina!" He called to her as he scrambled to his feet, clutching his sword in case any Orcs tried to stop him. She turned to look at him—since when could she see?—and Kili felt a cold fear within him when she did not recognize him. Instead, Nina pulled out her sword and faced him.

"Nina…?" He half-whispered, his face falling. "What have they done to you?"

"She can't hear you." Erick leapt from the higher stone to stand next to her. "Well, she can, but the Nina you know is trapped so far inside of her that she will never come back."

"No…no…no…" Kili refused to believe what he was hearing. Erick had somehow controlled her mind.

"Kill him."

She lunged her sword at Kili without hesitation as Erick left her to fight elves, and Kili just barely blocked it. She swung her sword and fought him mercilessly with an unnatural amount of force. Kili blocked her blows, but he could not bring himself to truly fight back.

"Nina, this isn't you." He grunted in between swings. "I know you can be good; I know you are better than this."

"You do not know me!" She growled. Kili knew he had to get out of this fight quickly if he wanted to reach that lever, but he couldn't bring himself to leave Nina. Despite now having sight, Kili knew his skills were still better and he could easily beat her.

"Nina, stop this." He glared at her when their swords locked and they stood face to face. He vaguely wondered if Nina would know who he was with sight. She let go a fierce growl and thrust her sword at him, forcing him to stumble back and hit the ground. She stood above him, her sword pointed at him as she glared menacingly.

Kili stared into her eyes as he waited for the final blow, when an arrow lodged itself into the wall inches from Nina's head. Both fighters turned to see the source. They were met with a fiery-haired she-elf rushing at Nina. Nina turned her attention to the elf, ready to fight. Kili took the opportunity to sprint past her for the lever. Just as he reached it, searing pain filled him. As Kili let out an agonizing cry, Nina felt her blade falter.

"Kili." She gasped, staring at him through misty eyes as he writhed in pain. When he heard his name from her he looked up at her, his heart rising at the dawn of recognition in her eyes.

"Sadril!" Erick barked from somewhere near her. Nina blinked back any threatening tears and straightened herself. "Kill the dwarf while he is wounded."

"Nina, please, the lever." Kili begged through gritted teeth as he found himself fighting to remain conscious. She frowned, looking from him to Erick to the lever before understanding what he meant. She looked back at Erick. Then to Kili. She made a small noise of surprise and rushed to the lever, pulling it down with all of her strength. The dwarves floated off freely.

Kili smiled up at her, wanting to cry as he thought about having her back. It was then that Erick appeared behind her looking angry as ever. He sharply set his hand to the side of Nina's head and she screamed in pain, falling to her knees. Kili screamed her name, but she couldn't hear him. Erick was chanting something—something in black speech that Kili couldn't understand. Within a minute Nina was silent and shaking, the look of emptiness and hatred back in her eyes as she rose to her feet.

"Nina no…" Kili whispered to himself weakly. He knew that he would have to get out of there and back with the company if he wanted to live past this arrow wound—and Nina's sword. He rolled over at the last second and fell into his barrel that Fili was holding for him, the arrow snapping off as he went. He screamed again in pain as they plunged further down the river.

"That was horrid behavior, sadril." Erick scolded as the Orcs pursued the dwarves. Nina hung her head. "Do you feel compassion for those dwarves?"

"No, of course not." Nina replied quietly. Erick's look and tone softened as he lay a hand on her shoulder.

"After all that I have done for you. I let you see your sister, I gave you a home, told you the truth, and have cared for you. Is this not enough?"

"I am very grateful for all that you've done for me, Erick. I was just being tested by the lies that is all. It will not happen again." Nina answered submissively. Erick smiled.

"Very well, I believe you." He moved to jump over the stone barrier between the Woodland Realm territory and the path the dwarves had been on in the river. "Shall we?"

Nina sighed, hopping over the stone after him as they ran down alongside the river to catch up with the dwarves and Orcs.

* * *

"Are we not addressing what happened back there?" Bofur eyed Kili as they climbed from their barrels and onto the shore. Kili glared at him.

"As soon as we've claimed that mountain, I'm going to find her." He replied shortly. Fili shook his head.

"Not alone you're not." Kili gave his brother a small smile. He knew Fili meant well, but the moment Thorin became king then Fili would be the heir, and he would have much to do at the mountain.

"We have to get across the lake." Thorin ordered as they all attempted to dry off.

"Kili's wounded, his leg needs binding." Fili called. "We need to take a rest."

"We've no time for that." Thorin answered sharply.

"But surely—"

"No, we don't have time." He insisted. Kili grimaced as he chanced a look at his arrow wound. His eyes were met with an unsightly black, festering wound that only seemed to getting worse. He was pale and looked very much unlike the happy Kili the dwarves all knew.

"Give us at least enough time to stop the bleeding, uncle." Fili argued lowly. Thorin gave him a long stare before sighing in defeat.

"You have two minutes."

* * *

"Radagast, I had thought you were not coming." Galadriel greeted him gracefully. Radagast bowed hurriedly as he took in the sights of Rivendell around him.

"My lady, I discovered the most alarming things in the High Fells." He rushed to say as she led him to her terrace.

"What is it, Radagast?" She pressed kindly when he began to stutter.

"The tombs, they've been…broken out of. Like something escaped from them." He managed to say. Galadriel froze as her blood turned cold with fear.

"Then the enemy has returned; the Necromancer is back among us." She whispered shakily. Radagast shook his head slowly.

"How could he be? And how much power could he possibly have?"

"I do not know, but I fear that we will discover the answers shortly. He must be the one responsible for my daughter's capture." She thought to herself as she paced the room. Radagast frowned.

"Your daughter, my lady?" He asked, confused.

"My daughter is here in Middle Earth." She explained. There was no use in being secretive about Nina, considering she would take Galadriel's place eventually.

"The next protector, my lady?" Radagast gasped. Galadriel could only nod.

"You have been of great use, Radagast. I am truly grateful to you, but with this new information there is much for me to do and I must leave you." She concluded, waving for a servant to show him out. Radagast gave her a small smile as he made to follow the elven servant.

"Of course, my lady. If there is anything else you need I am at your bidding." He gave a small bow before leaving.

Once all had left the room, Galadriel let go a heavy sigh. If the Necromancer had Nina, then her power had fallen into terrible hands. Nina was still young and new to Middle Earth and her powers, and this made her susceptible to anyone's influence. Galadriel closed her eyes and tried harder than she ever had to reach her daughter. If there was any chance Nina could be saved, Galadriel would take it.

_Please my daughter, hear me. _

* * *

It didn't take long for Nina and Erick to catch up with the Orcs, considering the Orcs had been held up fighting the dwarves. They all stood on the edge of the river overlooking the lake. The silence was broken when an Orc stooped down to taste some blood next to a rag.

"Dwarf blood…" He growled. "They were here."

"They must have found a way across the lake." Erick thought aloud. Nina frowned. "What is it sadril?"

"Why would they leave blood?" Nina asked quietly. Erick eyed her suspiciously, knowing that it was getting harder and harder for the master to keep her mind under his influence. Erick did not want to admit it, but Nina's light and goodness seemed to be proving more of a challenge than the master wanted to let on.

"One of them was hit by a Morgul shaft," An Orc answered from behind the two. "A black-haired archer, he'll be dead by now." Nina nodded slowly, contemplating his words. Erick waited for her reaction.

"Then that is one less for us to worry over I suppose."

"Indeed it is, sadril." Erick grinned. Perhaps her goodness wasn't strong enough after all. They all started searching for a quick route around the lake that would lead them to Laketown, where the dwarves would no doubt be. Nina paused, feeling an odd sensation that felt slightly familiar.

_Please my daughter, hear me. _

Nina screwed her eyes shut and shook her head slightly. When she opened her eyes again, she felt dizzy.

_Please, Nina. _

Nina shook her head once more and followed after the others. It would take more than a strange voice to sway her loyalty, she thought.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**SO other than the dwarves finally seeing proof that Nina is alive, this chapter was more of a prep for the next chapter. If you wanted to see more Nina/dwarves interaction, don't worry there will be plenty of that for the whole company to come! As always, please please review and let me know what you think! Until next chapter...**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

_**All rights go to Peter Jackson and Tolkien respectively, I only own my OCs. **_

* * *

It was cold and wet, and Thorin could not help but let go a quiet groan at the stench of fish and oil.

"How much longer you think?" He heard Bilbo peep at their smuggler, Bard. When they had stopped to mend Kili's wound, a bargeman from Laketown had ambushed them. Thorin grinned to himself thinking of Balin's witty tactics that had secured them a secret entrance into Laketown by way of Bard.

"Patience, Halfling. We will be there soon. Then you may have dry clothes."

"There's, um, just a problem: we're ten coins short." Balin addressed Thorin, breaking him from the thoughts he had just entered not a moment ago.

"Gloin. Come on." Thorin sighed like a tired parent. "Give us what you have."

"Don't look to me!" Gloin feigned innocence. "I have been bled dry by this venture! And what have I seen for my investment? Naught but misery and grief and…" He trailed off as he saw that the others were no longer listening. He huffed in frustration when he saw it.

The Lonely Mountain.

"Bless my beard, take it. Take all of it!" He shoved a bag of coins at Balin, who gave him a pointed look in return. They were torn from their longing when Bard approached urgently.

"The money, quick, give it to me." He demanded. Thorin turned to him with all of the authority he could muster.

"We'll pay you when we get our provisions, but not before." He growled.

"If you value your freedom, you'll do as I say." Bard huffed. "There are guards ahead."

* * *

Within the Woodland Realm, Tauriel circled the terrace impatiently as she watched her king question the Orc that Legolas had spared. Legolas held a knife roughly to the Orc's neck, and Tauriel scrunched her nose in disgust at the foul creature. She couldn't help but let her mind wander back to the mysterious young dwarf she had spoken with in the dungeon. He had a girl to get back, and she was secretly glad that he had escaped so that he might retrieve her. She may not have liked dwarves, but she had no objection to love.

"Such is the nature of evil. Out there in the vast ignorance of the world it festers and spreads, a shadow that grows in the dark. A sleepless malice as black as the oncoming wall of night." Thranduil strolled about the terrace, confidence exuding from him. "So it ever was; so will it always be. In time, all foul things come forth."

"You were tracking a company of thirteen dwarves. Why?" Legolas pressed the knife further into the Orc's neck. It coughed disgustingly.

"Not thirteen; not anymore. The young one, the black-haired archer, we stuck him with a morgul shaft." It growled. Tauriel felt a lump form in her throat. Was that the reckless dwarf she had spoken with? She was sure she had saved him from that warrior woman at the river. "The poison's in his blood. He'll be choking on it soon."

"Answer the question, filth." Tauriel gulped nervously. He had not been an unkind prisoner to her, and she had seen the way he had risked himself to save his friends at the river. He was a good person, she sensed that from what she had seen of him. The Orc spat something at her in its language—no doubt something insulting—and she scowled at it.

"I would not antagonize her." Legolas warned as Tauriel flourished her blade. She wanted nothing more than to slit its slimy throat, anything to wipe the smirk off its face.

"You like killing things, Orc?" She taunted. "You like death? Then let me give it to you!" She rushed at the Orc, ready to end him.

"Tauriel, _leave! Go now._" Thranduil ordered. Tauriel staggered back, shocked. Why was he not more concerned about the dwarves? Orcs were enemies of the elves as well, why could he not see the advantage in destroying them? She turned to leave, listening to his voice as she went.

"I do not care about one dead dwarf. Answer the question." Thranduil continued, as though nothing had happened. Tauriel felt her stomach churn. The dwarf would die, unless someone helped him. The Orcs would win, unless someone helped the dwarves to stop them. If Thranduil would not, then she would. She went to her quarters to gather her hunting things, and set out to track the dwarves.

* * *

Blinding pain was all that Kili could feel as he let out a cry in anguish. Fili rushed to his side immediately.

"Kili?" He croaked, rubbing his little brother's back. Kili took a deep breath as the pain subsided a bit. They were waiting in Bard's cramped home as Thorin and Dwalin argued with Bard. His children, Bain, Sigrid, and Tilda, stared at Kili like he was a fantastic creature of some sort. He rolled his eyes. Children.

"Are you alright, sir?" Sigrid, Bard's eldest daughter, approached the brothers cautiously.

"I'm fine, it's nothing." Kili grunted. He wanted nothing more than to get to the mountain and defeat Smaug instead of waiting around in Laketown. He could not help but to feel the pressure of reclaiming the mountain now that they were so close to it, and he kept in mind his own quest to find Nina after that.

"The moment you feel any pain again, you must tell me." Fili ordered. Kili remained in his thoughts. "Kili!"

"Yes, yes, brother I will tell you." Kili said with a jolt. Fili, after looking satisfied with the answer he got, left his brother to his thoughts and followed Sigrid over to her siblings. He seemed to be very kind to the children, Kili noticed, and enjoyed talking to them.

"You're not going anywhere." Bard mumbled, catching Kili's attention. The dwarves crowded around him outraged.

"What did you say?!" Dwalin bellowed.

"There's spies watching this house and probably every dock and wharf in the town. You must wait till nightfall." Bard explained. It sounded logical enough to Kili, but it was rather inconvenient. They had no good weapons, and now they had to deal with a delay in their travels. Before anyone could say anything else, Bard got a strange look on his face and left the house. Kili watched as the dwarves all grumbled to themselves, but with his injury he did not have the energy to join in.

"We have to get there." He whispered to himself, gazing at the mountain that was upon them.

* * *

"Who goes there?" Tauriel growled, her bow loaded. She was perched on a rocky ledge overlooking the lake when she heard a noise.

"Put your bow down, it's not like I can kill you." A quite nonchalant looking girl strolled out of the cover of the bushes. Her golden hair shone brightly in the afternoon sun, pulled back at her ears practically, and her blue eyes focused sharply on Tauriel. Her smile was twisted. "Then again, I suppose I can."

"Who are you?" Tauriel asked, her voice a bit shaky. Something about this girl put her on edge and she drew her arrow back tighter.

"I am no one, really, but what I want to know is who are you?" The girl replied casually. "You're following my men."

"Those Orcs? They are not _men,_ they are disgusting animals." She curled her nose in disgust. The girl's face turned into a dark scowl.

"I don't really care for them myself, but their leader is my leader, and he does not tell me lies like everyone else." She growled.

"I'm not following the Orcs, if you must know. I am tracking…someone else." Tauriel replied, purposefully keeping her quest vague.

"Who then?" The girl approached.

"That is my own business." Tauriel ended the conversation. "Go on your way now, there is nothing more to be said between us." The girl gave a small chuckle and nodded. She walked away from Tauriel, seemingly unconcerned with the arrow aimed at her.

"Before I leave you, let me say this. Your efforts to save the dwarves during our attack did not go unnoticed by me. If they are who you're tracking, then I am afraid we will meet again."

"So be it."

* * *

It was nightfall when chaos erupted in Laketown. Nina rose her eyebrows in surprise when she heard the screaming and uproar as she watched the town from a distance with Erich.

"Foolish men." He chuckled. Nina nodded. They listened as the men shouted and carried on outside of the city hall. Nina strained to listen, she may have been half elf but her hearing was human.

"Thorin and the dwarves stole weapons, that man over there said it." He pointed at a sly looking weasel-like man. "Thorin is trying to win the support of the people to avoid getting arrested."

"I would see those days returned…" Thorin's voice rose to Nina's ears. Something stirred in her when she heard that commanding voice. She shook the feeling.

"How should we go about stopping the dwarves then?"

"We wait until tomorrow when the town is settled more, now we are outnumbered." Erich reasoned. She nodded, unable to stop herself from listening to Thorin's speech.

"I speak to the Master of the men of the Lake. Will you see the prophecy fulfilled? Will you share in the great wealth of our people?" Thorin bellowed, receiving cheers from the men of Laketown. She was a little surprised to hear the amount of desperation and emotion in his words, and it was enough to make her waver in her loyalties. Nina found herself holding her breath as she awaited the town's response.

"Welcome, King under the Mountain!" The Master bellowed, only the end of his answer reaching her ears.

"They believe in him." Nina peeped. Erich frowned at her, watching as she stared down at the lake with a puzzled expression. "What are his crimes again?" She turned to him. Her blue eyes pierced the night, and Erich sighed. The dwarves' Nina was starting to fight back against his influence.

"Come, I think you need to be taught again." He held her forearm firmly and brought her to the corner of the makeshift camp they had made with the Orcs guarding. Erich sighed again as he brought her into a larger tent. He would have to spend the majority of the night using the black speech he had learned to control her again. The poor girl sat still in a chair, her eyes questioning him until he began speaking. Then the Nina she had been started once again to fade away.

* * *

It was early morning, a little too early for Bilbo's taste when the company marched out to their long boat where they would travel to the mountain. He could hardly believe that they were so close now, and while the freezing and uncomfortable part of him ached for his sweet home, the Tookish side of him could hardly wait to get on with the dwarvish adventure.

"You do know we're one short, where's Bofur?" Bilbo called to Thorin as he looked around. Thorin gave an almost inaudible sigh in exhaustion, vaguely reminding Bilbo of a tired father.

"If he's not here, we leave him behind." Thorin replied. Bilbo opened his mouth to argue the statement when Balin rushed to his side, justifying their leader. Bilbo sighed as they climbed past Thorin onto the boat. Kili moved to follow them when Thorin put his arm out in front of him.

"Not you. We must travel with speed, you will slow us down." Thorin said quietly into Kili's ear. Kili's heart leaped into his throat. What was his uncle saying?

"What are you talking about? I'm coming with you."

"No."

"I'm going to be there when that door is opened, when we first look upon the halls of our forefathers…Thorin!" He exclaimed incredulously as his uncle gently pushed him away from the boat.

"Kili, stay here and rest. Join us when you're healed." Kili shook his head rapidly, unable to find the words to argue. His leg twitched with pain.

"I'll stay with the lad, my duty lies with the wounded." Oin called over to the two dwarves as he climbed out of the boat. Fili followed behind.

"Uncle, we grew up on tales of the mountain. Tales you told us. You can't take that away from him!" Fili argued passionately. Thorin gave his nephew an unreadable look.

"Fili."

"I will carry him, if I must!"

"One day you will be king, and you will understand. I cannot risk the fate of this quest for the sake of one dwarf, not even my own kin." Thorin reasoned. Fili shook his head in disappointment at his uncle and moved to be with his brother. "Fili, don't be a fool. You belong with the company."

"I belong with my brother."

Fili joined his brother and Oin at the dock, while Thorin only stepped into the boat and started their journey to the mountain. The speech of the Master of Laketown was muffled in Kili's ears as the pain throbbed in his leg, and Fili held him up comfortingly. Just then, Bofur raced over to the three of them.

"So you missed the boat as well, lads?" He chuckled breathlessly, no doubt from running to the dock. Kili made to reply, but the pain became too much and he dropped to the ground. Everything went black.

When Kili stirred to consciousness, he looked around immediately. Light was not blinding him, so he knew he was indoors. Before he could gather any more information, the pain from his wound came rushing back to him and he let out an agonizing scream.

"The dragon, it's going to kill us." The faint voice of a little girl peeped somewhere near him, though to Kili the voices all sounded like they were coming from everywhere at once.

"Where is Bofur with that kingsfoil?!" Fili growled from above him.

"Bard, that isn't wise!" Oin called, but the door slamming told Kili that Bard was gone. A new wave of pain hit him with powerful force.

"What's happening?" Fili called to Oin, looking around to find Bard's three children standing in the kitchen, lost looks on their faces. Bard had been reluctantly kind enough to let them house Kili in his home so they could heal him. However, the healing was not going well at all. And on top of everything, a dragon had awoken in the mountain.

"Bard's gone off to kill the dragon." Oin answered frantically.

"I need some air." Sigrid huffed, the door slamming behind her as she left the room. Fili ran a shaky hand through his golden locks.

"How is he going to get through this? He looks worse!" He gasped at Kili. Before anymore could be said, Sigrid ran back into the house screaming as she tried to hold the door shut. Fili rushed to her aid, but not soon enough as an Orc rushed in past the woman.

Chaos ensued. Sigrid grabbed her younger sister and hid under the table with her, while Bain their brother threw benches at the Orcs. Fili and Oin wasted no time in brandishing their weapons to kill the beasts. Kili remained screaming in the bed. Soon enough, the redheaded elf Fili recognized as Tauriel appeared to fight the Orcs, followed by the blonde elvish prince. No one had really even noticed Nina's presence.

"You killed them all…" Bain gasped breathlessly in awe once the Orcs were all dead. Legolas, the elvish prince, nodded hurriedly.

"There are others, Tauriel come." He ordered, not even looking back to see if she was following him. Tauriel gulped nervously as she lingered. She felt a twinge of guilt. She had convinced Legolas to follow her to destroy Orcs, but she had not mentioned to him her concern for the dwarf Kili. The dwarf himself now lay screaming on the floor at her feet, having gotten up to stab an Orc for her.

"We're losing him!" Oin screamed to Fili in panic. Tauriel looked up in the direction of where Legolas had gone, and she made to follow. They had come for the Orcs, and one look at Kili told her he was about to die. She wasn't strong enough to watch it happen to the poor dwarf. She was stopped abruptly by a sword blocking her way.

"I had hoped we wouldn't meet again like this." Tauriel glared at the now much closer girl from the river.

"Then let us get on with it." Tauriel growled, brandishing her daggers. In a flash, she could have the girl dead at her feet. She could tell that the girl's skills were not incredible, and she kept blinking in frustration as if she were fighting something. She dealt harsh blows to the girl, but all were blocked albeit sloppily by the girl's sword. After a minute of fighting, the dwarves too occupied with Kili to notice, she lifted her dagger for the killing blow.

"NO!" Kili's terrified voice stopped her short, and the girl staggered back. "Please, don't hurt her…" He fought to remain awake as his eyes landed on the girl. "Please, don't hurt Nina…"

"Nina!" Fili jumped in surprise when he followed his brother's gaze. "Nina, we can help you." Tauriel looked from Kili to Nina in confusion.

"Who is she?"

"She is our friend, but they took her. They took her and they turned her against us and I don't…" Fili fought back tears. "I don't know how to get her back."

"She has the power to save him, too." Oin croaked, gesturing to the deathly pale Kili. Tauriel rounded on Nina.

"You are the girl he spoke of in prison, you have to be. I hardly know him at all, but I know that he is good. Please, save him if not for the dwarves than for him, a good man." Nina stared at Kili with wide eyes welling up with tears. She was fighting.

"Please…" Kili whispered pitifully before screaming in pain. That got her.

"Okay, on the table with him." She croaked. "I can do my best."

"Nina thank Mahal…" Fili let out a tearful sob before regaining himself.

"I haven't saved him yet." She met his red eyes with her own tired ones. "And I may not be able to."

"You did before…" Fili argued over Kili's screams. "I don't understand!"

"He is so close to death." Tauriel stated, locking eyes with Nina.

For the first time in what felt like ages, Nina closed her eyes and searched for Galadriel. When she had saved Kili's life in Rivendell, it had been by accident and she had not used her powers to heal since that day. She did not know how to save someone on purpose.

"Please, hear me." She whispered. She tried her hardest to block out Kili's weakening cries, but she couldn't as tears trickled down her cheeks at the sound of his pain. She knew how he died, and it wasn't like this.

"Can you keep him still somehow?" Tauriel barked at the two dwarves trying in vain to comfort Kili, and they immediately focused on holding him down with Tauriel holding his injured leg.

"I am not strong." Nina started to say, trying to speak to any higher power there was to help her here. "I cannot watch him die now, and I will not be able to later. Please, help me to save him. It is not his time." She focused all of her energy into her hands that lay on the wound in his thigh, and she saw the black poison running through his veins, closing in on his heart. "Not yet!" She screamed in panic. He couldn't die now. Not now.

She screwed her eyes shut and felt a warm sensation in her hands. It was the light that had touched him before, and she concentrated it even harder into his wound as the lilting voice of Galadriel came into her ear.

_The darkness came for you my daughter, fight it. _

Nina focused all of her heat and light into Kili's own life, begging for him to be alright. Her mind abruptly brought her back to her nightmare she had had so long ago in the goblin tunnels about being tortured with Fili by the orcs. Those memories of being stabbed by a morgul blade came to her, and the jagged scar on her side burned once again. She cried out in pain as the sensation worsened.

_Please, fight it. _

"Save him." She gasped in pain as all went silent. The heat and light from her was gone, and where she had seen black veins and an arrow wound there was now untouched skin. She took a shaky hand to her side and felt her own morgul wound. Her scar was gone, and a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

"He needs rest." Tauriel decided as Nina staggered back weakly. She decided to sit in a chair beside Kili as the others went to the other side of the room to discuss what to do next. Nina couldn't help but to stare at Kili. She had never seen him with her eyes before, and she realized that he was so different than what she had imagined. Of course, seeing him reminded her of the night he had kissed her, and she squirmed awkwardly at that memory and the arguments between them that had come from it.

"I knew you'd come back to us." A very weak sounding Kili interrupted her thoughts groggily. She leaned forward eagerly and smiled at him.

"You helped." She peeped, fighting back tears. "I'm so sorry, I let him control me…"

"It was not your fault." He stopped her, reaching his hand out to hers. She took it gently, feeling like it had been ages since they had shared such a gesture.

"I won't ever let that happen to me again." Nina told him, mostly reassuring herself. She would deal with Erich for what he did soon enough, but for now she needed to stay with the dwarves. He stirred, fighting sleep. Nina chuckled. "Get some rest, Kili."

"How did you fight it?" Fili's voice sounded from behind her. Nina turned to meet his cautious eyes. He was still wary of her, she knew.

"I don't know." She admitted. She had been so focused on healing Kili, she hadn't been able to discern how her scar was healed or how anything had happened. "Fili, do you remember when we were tortured by the Orcs?"

"How could I forget that horrid time?" He laughed mirthlessly at her, becoming a little more comfortable as he sat beside her.

"Then I'm sure you remember when I was stabbed by a sword; it had the same poison as the arrow that hit Kili." She continued. Fili frowned.

"Nina, you were never stabbed."

"Fili, I think I remember getting stabbed. You were there, too."

"Nina that never happened." He insisted, looking very concerned for her. "Is something wrong? Maybe it was a dream?"

"I had a scar!" She protested vehemently. "Fili, don't you remember?"

"It never happened, Nina."

* * *

**Author's Note**

**I'm sorry for not updating sooner, a bunch of stuff happened that I won't bore you with the details of. But now I should be updating more frequently, so please don't give up on this story, I have big plans for it. SO now we have Nina almost back to normal, Kili healed, but now the mystery of her stabbing scar has come back into play. Also, next chapter will feature the dwarves at the mountain with Smaug, so that should be interesting. Also Erich needs to deal with Nina...**

**As always, please leave a review with your thoughts and until next chapter :) **


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

_**All rights go to Peter Jackson and Tolkien respectively, I only own my OCs.**_

It was hard for Bilbo, seeing Thorin slowly starting to act more and more desperate to find the Arkenstone. Bilbo had been sent in to the dragon's hoard to find the Arkenstone, the key to uniting the dwarves against Smaug. He thought back to how reluctant Thorin had been to let Bilbo come on the quest as their burglar, and he had to admit he himself was just as reluctant to go.

_Where is he?_ He found himself frantically wondering as he pinned himself against a massive stone pillar as he hid from the dragon's fiery breath. Bilbo had awoken it alright, and it had not taken long for Smaug to see through Bilbo's flattery and gather that the dwarves had come. He forced himself to think of how Thorin had embraced him as a member of the company on the Carrock and not of how eager he had been to send Bilbo into the dragon's lair.

"You have been used, thief in the shadows. You were only ever a means to an end." Smaug taunted. Bilbo shook his head vehemently from behind his pillar. Smaug wanted him to come out. "The coward Oakenshield has weighed the value of your life and found it worth nothing."

"No, no, no, you're lying!" Bilbo insisted as tears welled up in his eyes from the dragon's heat and his implications. _Where are you Thorin?! _

"What did he promise you? A share of the treasure?" Smaug continued mercilessly. "As if it was his to give. I will not part with a single coin," He spat. "Not one piece of it!" Bilbo looked around for an escape as he sensed the dragon's growing impatience. Then he saw it.

The Arkenstone, glittering and magnificent, lay just outside his safe place with an innocent look. It had no idea the trouble it caused. Bilbo huffed in frustration and fear and decided to run. He sprinted out toward the Arkenstone and was so close that his fingers brushed it before Smaug whipped his tail and sent both Bilbo and the King's Jewel flying into the air.

"My teeth are swords! My claws are spears! My wings are a hurricane!" Smaug boasted his victory. He stood as tall as ever, spreading his wings in grandeur before a cowering Bilbo. Bilbo stood bravely as he shook in fear. His keen eyes focused on a missing scale on Smaug's left side in the chest.

"So it is true!" Bilbo whispered in delight to himself. "The black arrow found its mark."

"What did you say?" Smaug snapped dangerously.

"I uh um I was just saying your reputation precedes you, oh Smaug the tyrannical. Truly, you have no equal on this earth." Bilbo recovered. Smaug watched the hobbit skeptically as he crept closer to the Arkenstone. Bilbo stole a glance to it as he went, and Smaug noticed.

"I am almost tempted to let you take it," Smaug growled, startling Bilbo. "If only to see Oakenshield suffer, watch it destroy him, watch it corrupt his heart and drive him mad."

"No…"

"But I think not. I think our little game ends here. So tell me, thief, how do you choose to die?"

* * *

"I cannot feel her presence anymore." Erich growled to himself, an unfamiliar dread filling him. Azog stood beside him, eyeing the strange man with impatience. Erich noticed and switched to black speech. "The time has come for you to collect your armies from Dol Guldur, we march upon the mountain as soon as they have disposed of the dragon."

"_Who is to say that they will kill the beast?"_ Azog answered in the language. Erich grinned maliciously, thinking of the book in Nina's world. A man of Laketown would slay the beast.

"Have faith in our master, they will kill Smaug." He ordered, sending Azog away with the wave of a hand. Azog growled, looking as if he wanted to take the stupid man's head off right there, but instead he mounted his Warg and set off for Dol Guldur. They would need every Orc in order to take the mountain.

"You lot, go and find Bolg. Take him with you to Dol Guldur and march with Azog's armies." He turned to the few Orcs he had not sent to Laketown. "I have unfinished business here."

He knew that the elves had come and killed every Orc he had sent, but he was not sure if they had killed Nina. He had wanted the dwarves to see who she was now before they died, but now he wondered if his merciless motives had put her in danger. No doubt her powers could protect her, but she hadn't used them at all yet under his influence. He began to make his way across the bridge to Laketown when he stopped in his tracks. A massive blue wave emerged from the house where the dwarves had been and it rushed through the area for miles before dissipating. He shielded his eyes from the bright force. Nina.

"That girl…" He growled to himself as he began sprinting across the bridge. He couldn't feel her presence with him anymore, not because she was dead, but because she had fought it off. He needed to get her back and quickly, if his plan was to work.

It had been only minutes after Nina's healing of Kili—and herself—that she had felt panic set in again as Fili denied knowing about her stabbing. She wringed her hands nervously as she paced along Kili's bedside, unable to think up an explanation for anything.

"Nina, it's alright." Fili said, trying to calm her. Oin was busy discussing elvish medicine with Tauriel, who had made up a poultice for a cut Bain had gotten from the Orcs.

"No it's not, Fili. I was stabbed by a morgul blade and I've had a scar ever since we were tortured. Are you trying to tell me that I just dreamed that up? Fili something happened!"

"Then show me the scar." He huffed. Nina bit her lower lip awkwardly.

"It went away," She said, Fili immediately throwing his arms up in frustration. "It disappeared when I healed Kili, but I swear to you it was there." Before anymore could be said, Kili stirred awake. Both turned to him in concern, but the color had almost completely returned to his face and he sat up on the bed with ease.

"Brother don't you ever scare me like that again!" Fili cried as he rushed to embrace him. Nina smiled at the two. She had not been mind-controlled too terribly long, but it felt like ages when she saw the brothers happy as they were before.

"I'll do my best." Kili chuckled, his signature grin returning. Fili turned to Nina, whose smile was now fading as she thought more of the scar.

"Nina," He sighed, moving to her. "My brother is alive, and you are back to us. I do not know what will happen with that dragon, so for the few moments we have now can you just focus on the good that has happened?" Kili watched her carefully, wondering what was wrong. She nodded reluctantly. She wouldn't stop being worried about what was happening, but she would put on a good face for them.

"You're right." She sighed with a tight smile. Fili nodded and moved to check on Bard's children, leaving her alone with Kili. She gulped nervously as he slid over to give her room to sit. Not that she needed much room, she had lost quite a bit of weight from the sporadic diet of going on a quest with dwarves.

"Thank you." Kili peeped from beside her. Nina felt a twinge in her heart at hearing his gentle voice again after hearing nothing but his screams not long ago. Her friend was safe.

"Don't mention it, that's what friends are for." She replied sarcastically. She glanced up at him to see that he was completely serious. She suddenly felt self-aware and awkward.

"Nina."

"What?"

"Tell me what happened to you." He stared at her expectantly. "In Mirkwood that man took you away, and then the next I know you're trying to kill me at the elven gate. And now you've saved my life and you're my Nina again?"

"_Your_ Nina?" Nina replied, giving him a warning glance even though her voice was shaking noticeably. Kili bowed his head.

"I suppose not," He mumbled. "Please tell me."

"He, Erich is his name, took me and my sister back to his evil lair I guess and he did something to me to control my mind." Nina tried to explain. "Kili if I did anything to hurt you I'm so sorry it wasn't me—"

"Nina, I knew that it was not you. I just didn't know why." He stopped her. He noticed her worried expression and gave her a smile. "I am very glad you are back with us now, though."

"I don't know how I did it. And I don't know if Erich will let me go." She looked around nervously. Admittedly, she hadn't thought of Erich at all since she had freed herself from him, but now that she had a moment to process all that had happened, she wondered if he would just let her go.

"He will not have a choice in the matter, not while I am alive." She heard Kili growl quietly from beside her. She decided not to comment on it. Instead, she looked at him, and it dawned on her that she hadn't really had the chance to register what he looked like yet. She didn't remember anything she had experienced while under Erich's influence, but even after healing Kili she hadn't really gotten to see him and focus on him.

"I guess I already knew what you looked like." She said quietly, not sure if she should refer to the night he had kissed her or not. He looked back at her and smiled.

"Sorry if I'm disappointing at all." He smirked. Nina rolled her eyes at the dwarf.

"Shut up."

"I miss this."

"What?"

"Me teasing you and you pretending to take offense."

"Who's to say I'm not offended?" Nina gave him a pointed glare. He looked a little cautious, but soon realized she was joking again. They both gave a small laugh, before lapsing into silence as their thoughts wandered to what was coming ahead.

"The others are in the mountain by now." Kili informed her after a moment. She looked surprised.

"They left you in that condition?"

"It was important to Thorin that they reach the mountain in time, he couldn't afford another delay." Kili spat, sounding like he was almost mocking his uncle. Nina decided not to pry on the subject, though obviously there had been a disagreement.

"Well I'm sure—"

"There you are." Nina's blood ran cold as the familiar voice of Erich cut through the room. Everyone had frozen—Bard's children, Tauriel, the dwarves and Nina. She swallowed hard and forced herself to stand up, meeting his dark gaze. He sneered. "I've been looking for you."

"I want you to leave." Nina replied, albeit shakily.

"Come, _sadril._" He scoffed. Nina did not move, even when he began to approach. "Or have you forgotten who it is you are to be loyal to?"

"You lied to me, a lot." She spat. "So answer this: why should I be loyal to you in any way?"

"I took you in, I gave you sight!"

"I didn't ask for it!" Nina screamed, fighting back tears as she imagined having to go back with him. "You took me against my will!"

"And what about the girl that was with you when you took her? Where is she?" Oin piped up, shooting Erich an accusing look. Who knew what this man was doing to the poor girls he took.

"She is where she belongs." Erich spat.

"Who?" Nina cut in. She struggled to remember anything after being taken by Erich. He fixed her with an unreadable yet fearful look. Her tone quieted. "Who did you take?"

"Madison." Her heart leapt into her throat as Nina thought of Erich killing her sister, which no doubt he had. She couldn't breathe, her big sister, her only sister, how could she be gone?

"No…no…no…" She gasped falling back in shock. Kili quickly stood up and pushed her upright again.

"Have you no heart at all?" He glared daggers at the man before them all. Erich glared back, not missing how protective Kili was over Nina.

"She is safe. A little heartbroken, perhaps, but I sent her home to her world and her father." He replied, mostly to Nina. She met his eyes.

"You didn't…kill her?"

"You are my servant, _sadril._ I extended some mercy."

"She is not your servant!" Fili stepped in at Nina's other side. "She is part of the company of Thorin Oakenshield and you have no further purpose here." The dwarves made it a point to brandish their weapons, and Tauriel approached with her daggers in hand.

Erich looked around. Clearly, sword or not he would not be able to take three armed dwarves and an elf captain all at once, not to mention any skills Nina might remember from him. He had no doubt lost her, and he knew challenging them now would only get him killed. If he wanted the girl's power on his side in the future, he would have to be patient now. Patience, he thought, would make the dwarves' deaths sweeter.

"Well I see that I've been beaten."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**I'm sorry this one is a bit of a short filler, but important stuff happened so it was needed. I promise more action next chapter, especially as we get closer to the big battle! **

**As always, let me know what you think of this one and until next chapter!**


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